Severe mold, later confirmed to be many times over safe limits, forced Danielle Pollard to vacate her home at Kaladar in late September, her young daughter in tow.

This week, after a series of measures had been taken by the landlord, Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services (OAHS), the house has been given a clean bill of health as far as air quality is concerned, and Pollard is preparing to move back in.

However there are a few loose ends. Much of her furniture, and all the mattresses in the house could not be successfully freed of mold and have been thrown out.

“I asked them about my out of pocket costs for furniture and they told me that they had informed me when I moved in that I should obtain renter's insurance. I did that, but my renter's insurance does not cover damage due to mold. I'd say that is the responsibility of the landlord,” said Pollard.

In an email to her from OAHS, a commitment was made to look at relief from rent and hydro payments that Pollard has made for October and November, but when she pointed out that her renter's insurance does not cover mold damage in an email to OAHS they did not respond.

“I'm going to have to bring the financial matters to a Landord-Tenant Board tribunal,” said Pollard.

Before moving back in, Pollard is checking all the household items to make sure they are mold-free and, with the help of her church, friends and neighbours, is working on replacing the household items she needs to be comfortable in the house.

“I am a bit nervous about moving back in, because even with the inspection and the measures that have been taken to prevent mold from coming back, I still fear that it will come back, and where will I be then?” she said.

Last year, Pollard left an OAHS house in Northbrook because of mold in the basement, only to find her Kaladar home filled with mold in September.

OAHS Executive Director Don McBain, responded to a question about compensation for Danielle Pollard via email this week.

“I have requested a report from our property management division on current discussions with the client” he said. There are 9 Ontario Aboriginal Housing Corporation homes in Addington Highlands, 13 in North Frontenac, 19 in Central Frontenac, 4 in South Frontenac, 3 in Westport, 4 in Tay Valley, and 22 in the Township of Rideau Lakes, making it one of the largest providers of rent-subsidised housing in the region.

McBain said that of the 61 units listed above, 55 are currently occupied, 5 are being rehabilitated and prepared for new tenants, and one is in need of more major repairs, which will be undertaken next spring.

Danielle Pollard and her young daughter live in a subsidised rental house in Kaladar that is provided by Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services, an agency that is based in Sault Ste. Marie, and has rental properties throughout the province.

That is, she lived in the house until late September when she found that the air in the house had taken on a sour, moldy smell, and found that some of the walls of the house, all her furniture and other possessions were covered in a light grey mold. She is now staying with her mother and ailing father at their small home in Northbrook.

When I met her at the house last week, it appeared spotlessly clean inside because much of the mold had been washed off, but it persisted on the beds and some other spots. However, the smell of mold was immediately apparent as soon as I entered the house.

“Part of my frustration comes from the fact that I moved to this house because I had to leave the previous Aboriginal Services house that I lived in in Northbrook, because the mold in the basement was so bad it made the house unliveable and ruined half of my furniture,” Pollard said. “So I moved in here, and they told me the house was mold free but it isn't anymore.”

“What I want to know is whether the house is safe to live in and whether I can clean some of my furniture or does it all have to go,” she said.

Matt Doyle of the Kingston Frontenac Public Health Unit did an inspection of the house and in his letter of opinion he said any materials in the house that are porous and can not go through a washing machine, need to be replaced.

That would include the couch and chairs and almost all of the furniture, which is made of wood.

Pollard said that repeated requests for service to Aboriginal Housing Services have only resulted in inspections, but the results of those inspections have not been shared with her and no commitment to a remedy has been made.

“I've now been out of the house for almost a month, and I don't see that changing,” said Pollard, “and if I do have to replace all my furniture - how I am going to replace it?” she said.

An air quality test was ordered by Aboriginal Housing and was done early last week at the house, and last weekend an inspection was done by the Ministry of Housing Inspection and Enforcement Board on Pollard's request.

Results of those tests should have been delivered to the regional office of Aboriginal Housing in Peterborough, but calls from Pollard and a subsequent call on Tuesday by the Frontenac News have not been answered.

This is not the first time mold has been an issue in the house. According to Mike Powley, the Kaladar waste site attendant, the furniture and other possessions of the previous tenant in the building ended up in landfill because “they were covered in grey mold.”

Ontario Aboriginal Housing operates nine units in Addington Highlands, 13 in North Frontenac, 19 in Central Frontenac, four in South Frontenac, nine in Stone Mills, and 13 in Lanark Highlands.

Letters - April 24, 2008

Back toHome

Letters - April 24, 2008 Letters: April 17

Help Mary, Help Yourself! Rev. Patsy Henry & Susan Irwin

Turtles On the Move,Tracy Moore

Help Mary, Help Yourself!

I would like to introduce you to Mary. You may know someone like her, or you may find that you have in lot in common with Mary’s situation.

Mary is a pleasant, 79-year-old widow who is proud of her independence. She owns her own house, has a car and three adult children. One child lives in the Sharbot Lake area, the other two in Toronto. All three children are busy with their own lives but visit when they can. All three have expressed concerns about Mary’s ongoing ability to maintain the house and manage on her own.

Mary too is concerned, although she would never admit it to her children. The house is a lot of work and she’s finding it hard to keep up with everything. She tires more easily and the aches and pains associated with strenuous activity seem to trouble her more. But the grass still needs cutting, the garden still needs weeding, the snow needs shovelling, the windows need cleaning, the floor needs washing, the clothes need laundering, the roof needs fixing and then there’s the cooking. Oh dear, who wants to cook a big meal for one?

And then there’s the driving. Mary doesn’t drive at night anymore. She doesn’t like to drive long distances and city driving makes her nervous. Why does everyone drive so fast? Next year she has to go for a driving test. What if she doesn’t pass and loses her driver’s licence?

You can appreciate Mary’s dilemma. It is shared by many seniors, both singles and couples. It is shared by their families who worry for their well-being. It is a dilemma that occurs in urban centres, as well as rural settings, although within an urban area there may be a greater range of housing, transportation and care options available. It is a dilemma that will occur with increased frequency in our rural community given the high number of seniors living in the area and our aging population.

So what is Mary to do? Move to Perth, Kingston or another city to take advantage of seniors’ apartments, condominiums or other assisted living accommodation? Hang on and manage as best she can because she wants to remain in our rural community where she has strong roots, friends, her grandchildren and many, many memories? Still capable of independent living, Mary is not yet ready to consider the retirement home or nursing home options available in the area. But what else is there?

At present, the options are limited. However, that could change, if we, as a rural community, were ready to work together to develop much needed alternative housing for seniors.

What Mary would like is an affordable seniors building or complex with individual apartments and a dining room where residents could come together for at least one meal a day. Perhaps personal support services would be available to assist seniors who need more care but less than that which would necessitate a move to one of the area’s existing retirement homes or nursing homes. Perhaps also, transportation services could be provided by Rural Routes, for those unable to drive.

Mary’s dream is but one of a number of models of seniors housing available for consideration. Whatever the model or vision, all entail a number of issues of varying complexity ranging from location, ownership, financing, management and so forth. As well, any new seniors’ housing development should complement and augment existing seniors’ accommodation in the area’s retirement and nursing homes.

In order to tackle these issues and move forward we believe that a working committee of committed volunteers is needed. If you are interested and would like to volunteer, please call the United Church Office at 613-279-2245 and leave your name and a telephone number where you may be reached.

Working together we can accomplish much.

Rev. Patsy HenrySusan Irwin, Barrister & Solicitor

Turtles on the Move

Aturtle was at the end of our driveway. I followed it for about a mile back into the woods, then to a swamp. Finally I gave up and turned back while it carried on. We live on Big Clear Lake in the east bay.

Please let people know that the turtles are traveling now. Please avoid hitting them when driving.

Jackie Davis

Council defers web-casting proposal

The next time you are home alone on a Saturday night, thinking that there are a billion websites out there and nothing to watch, you might curse Central Frontenac Council for deciding not to post their council meetings on the web.

The township’s information technologist Charlene Godfrey prepared information about two live streaming and web archiving services that are available so that people within the township and beyond would be able to view council as they carry out township business at their twice monthly 5-hour sessions.

The cost estimate from one service provider is $7,500 per year plus a one-time camera purchase of $600. Another company offers the service for a $9,000 up front cost and a $3100 annual service fee.

“Do we have any idea of how much use others have made of this?” asked Councilor John Purdon.

“There are some municipalities that are slightly larger than ours, but since we have so many people from outside the region who cannot get to meetings, we are making this proposal,” Godfrey said.

“My own view is that this might be a bridge too far at this point,” said Deputy Mayor Gary Smith.

“I think we should defer this until we get some information about the demand for it,” said Councilor Frances Smith.

The motion to defer was approved.

Municipality lines up behind seniors housing proposal

The proposal to build a four-plex low-income seniors’ housing townhouse on Clement Road in Central Frontenac is facing a hearing of the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).

Neighbours of the proposed development have taken Central Frontenac Township and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to the OMB over the process they used to approve zoning and land severance for the proposed development.

While it is the developer, in most cases, who must pay all legal costs defending the approvals to the board, the developer in this case, North Frontenac Non-Profit Housing, has no budget for legal representation.

Last week, Frontenac County Council agreed to pay half of the legal costs for the housing corporation, to an upset limit of $10,000.

At their own council meeting on Tuesday night (November 24) Central Frontenac made the same commitment, providing a $20,000 cushion for the cash-strapped housing corporation.

“So often we go to the OMB to defend the integrity of our official plan when we say no to people who want to do things, and it is just a cost, but here we are defending a seniors housing project and we will be creating new assessment. It is fitting that we provide the support, especially when seniors’ housing is recognised in our Official Plan,” said Mayor Gutowski

The OMB hearing is expected sometime in January. 

Infrastructure Ontario – Council received a presentation by Bob Keene of Infrastructure Ontario, an agency that offers loans to municipalities for building projects and large capital purchases.

Keen said that Infrastructure Ontario provides interest rates that are similar to what banks offer to municipalities, but they are able to guarantee rates for the life of a loan, even a 15, 20, or 30-year loan, whereas banks’ interest rates usually have to be renegotiated every five years.

Keene also said that the application procedure at Infrastructure Ontario has been streamlined

Treasurer Judy Gay said she has looked at Infrastructure Ontario in the past, and “the interest rates were similar to the banks. The only difference was the onerous application process.”

She said that the guaranteed interest rate is something the township might take advantage of in the future.

Septic system maintenance program – A draft septic system maintenance program was presented to council by the chief building official, Ian Trickett.

The proposal includes stipulations that property owners pump out their systems every five years and provide a certificate of inspection to the township to that effect.

There was talk of a township subsidy for the certificate program, and Ian Trickett said “The proposal is to target the most sensitive area first, waterfront residential in phase 1, general residential in phase 2, etc.”

The details of the plan are still to be worked out, and CAO John Duchene said, “We are asking that this be sent to our lawyer for an opinion at this time, and there is no point us working out the details unless the lawyer says we can go ahead with it.”

“I think the integrity of our environment is important,” said Mayor Gutowski. “I think we should take the next step.”

“We have neighbours that are already doing this,” said Deputy Mayor Gary Smith, “we are behind the eight ball.”

A legal opinion is being sought on the proposal.

Building figures down – For the second year in a row, Central Frontenac has seen a decrease in residential construction activity. Permits for 26 new homes had been taken out by the end of October, and 128 permits in all, for a construction value of $5,185,000.

At the same time last year permits for 30 new homes had been taken out, and 152 in all, for a value of $6,342,000.

By the end of October in 2007, permits for 35 homes had been taken out, and 176 permits in all, for a construction value of $7,083,000

Piccadilly Hall – Ian Trickett reported that plans to construct a handicapped accessible washroom at the rear of the Piccadilly Hall have run into a snag because of structural issues at the rear of the hall. He suggested, for the second time, that the rear should probably be rebuilt instead of renovated.

Councilor Bill Snyder disputed this, saying the hall might be off square, but it is in good shape.

Trickett recommended that a request for proposal be set up to allow contractors to consider either a renovation or a rebuild proposal, and this was accepted.

Rideau Valley Conservation Authority – Del Hallet, general manager of the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, made a short presentation to council.

Hallet outlined the authority’s mandate to protect water quality, reduce hazards, consider shoreline conditions, improve watershed habitats, and work on public access and education.

Hallett said, “We are quite blessed when it comes to the area in which we work; our watershed is in better shape than others across the province.”

He also referred to council’s earlier discussion about septic maintenance, and said Rideau Valley, in conjunction with the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority, “conducts septic re-inspections in five municipalities” including Tay Valley and North Frontenac.

“We also understand the Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington Health Unit is shifting focus away from approving septic permits for new construction. This might be an opportunity to for us to help out as well,” he said.

Deputy Mayor commends mayor over county governance – Gary Smith attended the most recent meeting of Frontenac County Council where an agreement over governance was reached.

“I commend the mayor for an excellent presentation. I think it will lead to better governance for the county and improved relations between the townships and the county,” he said. 

 

Back to HomeLetters - August 27, 2009Letters: August 27

Generator Stolen From Verona Festival, Doug Lovegrove

Re: Mark Segworth's Warning, Bill Robinson

Where is the local talent?, Shawn McCullough

To the concerned citizen's from Clement Road, Jeff Green

Generator stolen from Verona Festival

Bad news from the festival. Just after the festival’s close down and clean up, a generator that was on loan from Bell Aliant to assist with power for the festival was stolen from the back parking lot at the Verona Free Methodist Church and was last seen Sunday August 16. The stolen generator is a gas-powered portable generator, model ONAN Pro 6000E, serial number I991986215. The Verona Community Association hopes that anyone who may have information on the theft or the present location of the generator would pass the information along to the local office of the OPP, 613-372-1932. They also may contact the festival manager, Wayne Conway, at 613-374-3807.

Doug Lovegrove

Re: Mark Segsworth’s Warning

Yes there was an accident at the corners of Hwy 38 in the village of Harrowsmith and nobody was hurt, and nobody was charged. It was an accident and accidents happen on straight sections of highways all over the world.

The problem has been studied here at these corners for years.

Recently a traffic count was done for a different reason, the count was approx. 4500 vehicles a day

Why spend money on something we know already…. It is a bad situation.

My observations are my own, not the words of John Sherbino, who thinks differently, Also I would like to let him know the count of council was 7 to 2 against the spending $30 K.

Besides we have our own qualified engineer: About the $30K, we could spend that for a passing lane within the settlement area of the village. There is a young couple trying to start a business in the area, who are facing a $28,000 bill from the township for a passing lane. Perhaps the money could be used to help them out.

Councilor Bill Robinson, Harrowsmith

Where is the local talent?

While reading through your paper I came across an article highlighting the entertainment for the up-coming Parham Fair, and couldn't help but wonder, "Where is the local talent?" 

There are a number of great local bands to choose from and yet the fair board seems to repeatedly hire from out of the area, ignoring the local bands. I am a musician born and raised in Parham and have been asked three times to bid on the headlining gig with our band, "Printers Alley".  All of our bids have been markedly lower than Ambush's and yet have been rejected every time. We were not contacted at all this year to bid. 

I have no problem with the boys in Ambush as I know all of them, but it feels like a slap in the face to our band and some of the other great local bands such as "Red Rose Express", "Tailgate, and "The Cellar Hounds", to name a few.  Whoever wrote the article is either just very opinionated or very assuming to write that "Ambush" is "our favorite group". "Our" meaning members of the board who vote against us local bands? Trust me, hire any one of these local bands I mentioned and you'll have as good a show or maybe even better. 

Remember, all of these men and woman are actively involved in our local charities and fund raisers such as "Relay For Life", etc.  I think our area residents would be very happy to see some of this great local talent. Perhaps we need a few more local people on the fair board entertainment committee. That might make a difference!!  Maybe the local musicians should consider putting on our own festival on …let’s say.....the last weekend in August next year in Parham!

As a community, we are encouraged to support local small business and agriculture, etc. But where is the support for musicians?  A local fair is a showcase for what that particular community has to offer, is it not?

Now that I've aired my opinion on behalf of all the local (very talented) musicians,  I'm curious to hear what the rest of the community has to say.

Shawn McCullough

To the concerned citizen's from Clement Road

As a member of the Board of Director's of the North Frontenac Not For Profit Housing Corporation (NFPHC) I take exception to some of the language employed in the “Open Letter to Residents of Clement and Wagner Roads” that has been circulated.

Included among the letter's assertions are the comment that locating rural housing 3.5 kilometres from Sharbot Lake is tantamount to “an ill-advised experiment in social engineering which will put fragile senior's into a forest ...”

I find that a bit rich.

Whoever wrote the letter, which is unsigned, may not like the proposal, and is fully within their rights to appeal the whole thing to the Ontario Municipal Board to be sorted out, even if it that means the housing corporation could lose out on some funding, face increasd costs, or lose the project entirely.

The letter is trying to convince the community that the objections are legitimate by including accusation that the whole thing was “railroaded” through Council, that there is “no local support for this project,” and that it is “something no one else could even hope to get through council” without presenting any evidence.

I must point out that the housing corporation has followed all of the rules that have been laid out before it, and has been open about our intentions and plans from the very beginning.

I recognise the neighbours to this proposed development have concerns, which were expressed at a meeting in which the Housing Corporation invited the neighhbours to discuss the project before it went to the township planning process.

The major concern that I came away with from that meeting is the fact there are problems with the entranceway to Clement Road, and the upkeep of the road itself, both of which are not highlighted in the letter.

I sit on the housing board. Although I am not speaking for the board in this letter, I would like to assure the public that our board is merely trying to fulfill our mandate in bringing senior's housing to our area, insteading of seeing it move to Kingston. We have no hidden agenda, and we have not skipped out on any of the procedural hoops that have been thrown our way.

Whilethe letter writer is happy to make use of his/her right of appeal, which is part of the process, but feels it is ok to say in the same breath that the rest of the process is unfair, that the whole thing is being “railroaded” through.

I have talked to many of the neighbours about this project, and have thought carefully about the concerns that have been expressed, particularly about the entranceway to the project.

But this letter only makes me feel angry that after approach everyone as neighbours, our board is being accused of manipulating a public process.

We are promoting a project we are convinced will be good for the community as a whole, in this location.

People have every right to oppose it, but this letter does more than that. It uses insult and accusation in place of information and well founded concern.

Jeff Green, Board Member(North Frontenac Not-for-Profit Housing Corporation)

South Frontenac Council

Brian Hill of Hydro One asked Council to reconsider the use of the herbicide Garlon 4 (triclopyr) for control of brush and tree growth on hydro right of ways and under transmission lines. He said Hydro’s goal is to stabilize low plant growth in these areas to grass and low shrubs, which will allow ease of access for repairs and maintenance.

In 2007, when Garlon was last proposed, there was a strong public reaction against it, with the result that a compromise was reached, to use Roundup (glyphosate) instead. However, Roundup has proven to not adequately control the woody growth of Manitoba maple, elm, etc, and cannot be used on dormant plants.

As well, the formulation of Garlon has changed: most of the ‘inert’ ingredients have been removed, mineral oil has been substituted for petroleum distillate, and the chemical now comes in a ready-to-use form, eliminating the necessity of mixing on site, which carried potential for spills. It can also be successfully applied to the bark of dormant trees.

Councilor Stowe said that South Frontenac had very few power outages during the recent ice storm, compared to other areas where trees had fallen across hydro lines: he attributed much of this to Hydro’s recent aggressive removal of trees along the roadside hydro lines.

Mayor Davison agreed, and asked whether some areas, such as those near organic farms, could request to be excluded from Garlon treatment. Hill said this could certainly be done. Davison said a thirty-metre setback from lakes and watercourses would also be necessary. There was general agreement from other Council members.

CAO Orr asked Hill to send a formal request from Hydro One, so Council could address a resolution.

Community Grants

Treasurer Fragnito presented a proposal for a community funding policy that would address the means of distributing small grants to community organizations for projects deemed to ‘support and enrich quality of life within the Township.’ In 2014, $10,000 has been budgeted for Community Grants. Councilor McDougall said that these grants might be one means of non-profit groups getting some relief from hall rental fees. Council will review Fragnito’s proposal.

Affordable Seniors' Housing in Township

Councilor McDougall said that although there is need for more seniors housing in the rural areas, the City has made it clear that they do not see rural housing as a priority. As a result, the County of Frontenac has established a Seniors Housing Task Force to encourage local housing initiatives, in order to address at a local level the housing needs of our growing seniors population, and their wish to remain in their home communities.

Old School Museum Project

McDougall reported that the Portland District Heritage Society was continuing to make improvements in the stone schoolhouse in Hartington, and would like to approach Council with a plan to proceed toward the establishment of a museum. As a first step, they will make a presentation to the Township Recreation Committee in February. 

Back to HomeFeature Article - June 11, 2009 Central Frontenac Council - June 8/09By Jeff Green

Guntensperger chastised over PARC

Councilor Norm Guntensperger asked that the Program and Accommodation Review Committee (PARC) for the local schools be put on the council agenda.

However, Guntensperger, who represented council on the committee, did not present an update into how the PARC had proceeded. Instead he talked about the circumstances surrounding his decision to resign from the PARC.

The issue at hand was a presentation Guntensperger made to the PARC at the beginning of the meeting where the committee was set to pick their preferred option. On the grounds that the school is central to the life of the village of Mountain Grove, Guntensperger argued the PARC should not recommend closing Land O' Lakes Public School.

“The next evening I received a phone call from the mayor saying that I was not representing the township and in fact I had not done my job. She requested that I resign, and informed me that she felt I might be in conflict of interest.

“I reiterated that I did not think I was; the members of the PARC from Hinchinbrooke said on more than one occasion that they wanted their school to be closed. However I was speaking as the representative from Olden. I was clear that I was not speaking on behalf of the township.”

Mayor Gutowski replied directly to Councilor Guntensperger. “In my opinion, as an employee of the Limestone District School Board [Guntensperger is a teacher at Land O' Lakes Public School] I think you should take legal advice about this. To publicly go out and say you do not represent the township when you are sent to represent the township, when there is something as controversial at stake such as school closing, I don't think that was wise.”

“If I may, Madam Mayor, I would just like to say that if I had stood up and said I represent the township it would have been presumptuous. The truth is only people from my district approached me, and they wanted Land O'Lakes to stay open,” replied Guntensperger.

“I'm going to chalk some of this up to inexperience,” said veteran councilor Frances Smith, “when you are sitting at a meeting as a councilor, you represent the township.”

As Guntensperger has now resigned from the PARC, Councilor Gary Smith has stepped in to represent the township as the committee winds down.

(Note – in addition to members from North and Central Frontenac township councils, the PARC includes parents and school support staff members, teachers and principals as well as board employees as advisors)

HOUSING REQUEST – North Frontenac Not for Profit Housing sent a letter to council requesting that development fees associated with a planned five-unit seniors’ housing complex be waived by the township.

Township Planning Coordinator Cathy MacMunn said that the project will require an official plan amendment, a zoning change, and a severance, which will cost between $3,000 and $5,000 in addition to building permit fees.

The request received widespread support, but before a vote could take place CAO John Duchene said it might be preferable for the township to charge the fees, then provide a grant back to the housing corporation.

The matter was deferred for Duchene to investigate and will be finalised on June 23.

ARDEN HALL NEEDS NEW SEPTIC - The continuing saga of repairs to the Arden hall took a new twist when township staff and the public health unit came to the conclusion that it is impossible to keep the existing septic system in place as the wall at the back of the hall is repaired. A new system will be required. The good news is there is money in the 2009 budget for a replacement septic system and the work should be completed this year.

TRACTOR PURCHASE – After a divisive debate, council agreed, in a 5-4 vote, to purchase a tractor to be used for roadside mowing this summer.

SPEED BYLAW PASSED – A long-awaited speed limit bylaw was finally approved. It creates a number of 40 km per hour roads, as well as 50 and 60 km roads. Very small, dead end roads will not be posted.

COUNTY GOVERNANCE – Council received a letter from North Frontenac Council that endorses a plan to create a nine-member Frontenac County Council, including the mayor and another representative from each of the four lower-tier townships that make up the county, and an extra member from South Frontenac. Councilor Gary Smith pointed out that “Since we have endorsed the same resolution, that makes two thirds of the triple majority that this needs to be adopted. It has been endorsed by a majority of councils representing a majority of the population. The only missing element in this is the county council itself; the ball is clearly in county council's court.

Councilor Bob Harvey asked, “Should we make a suggestion that our mayor carry this forward?”

Mayor Gutowski, who is doubling as county warden this year, said “I agree that the discussion should come forward, and I will ensure that this will come forward as an item for action at next week's meeting.”

“Do you have a position yourself?” asked Councilor Guntensperger.

“I'm not yet there with exactly what is proposed. It will be an interesting discussion at the next meeting. It will be on the agenda,” Gutowski replied. 

Seniors' housing emerging as a common objective

After a tumultuous 18 months that resulted in a lawsuit (which is still active), the departure of the chief administrative officer for a friendlier location, and some lingering personal and political grievances, there was a noticeable shift in the tone and pace of the monthly Frontenac County Council meeting last week.

Newly minted warden, North Frontenac mayor Bud Clayton, put forward some of his personal agenda items for the year, including a push for more youth involvement in municipal politics, and then Council went about its business without much fuss.

Part of the change has to do with the fact that Council meets twice a month now, and much of the real debate takes place at the more informal Committee of the Whole meetings, so council meetings are more for formal approval of items that have already been discussed.

At a relatively short in camera meeting, Council approved a new corporate structure, which changes some of the relationships between the top managers (the still vacant chief administrator position, the treasurer and the clerk) but refrained from making any of the downgrades to some of the junior management positions that were rumoured to have been put forward as options in the non-public sections of a service delivery review that was recently completed by consultants from the firm KPMG.

One of the interesting indications that there has been a change in the relationship between the council and the county was the lack of debate when Warden Clayton suggested that the County Sustainability Planner Joe Gallivan sit in on the ongoing meetings between the public works managers of South, Central and North Frontenac. These meetings have led to talk of joint contracting for services in the areas of waste management and road maintenance.

“The County may have access to grants that the townships might never be able to get, and sometimes it is easier to put in one application instead of three,” Clayton said, and a no-fuss vote of approval followed.

In the past two years, similar proposals by former CAO Liz Savill led to vigorous calls for the county to keep clear of township business.

The test of this new-found calm at the county will come next week, when the 2014 budget is tabled.

Two items that will be included with the budget also promise to be contentious. South Frontenac Mayor Davison will be looking for a complete costing for the planning services that the county will be doing for three of the four townships, not including his own, to ensure in his own mind that South Frontenac ratepayers are not subsidizing planning costs for other townships.

The other issue that will finally be front and centre will be the question of how to deal with county reserve funds. Chief among them is the $4.5 million working fund reserve, which by all accounts can be cut down substantially without causing any undue risk. Also in play is $1.6 million in accumulated reserves from federal gas tax grants. While Council has allocated all future gas tax funds to the townships, this money is still sitting in a county reserve. The debate will be centred on whether that money should be paid out to the townships as well, or left where it is to fund on-going sustainability projects and community improvement plans that are in place in Verona and Sharbot Lake, and Marysville on Wolfe Island.

One possible outcome of the reserves discussion would be the allocation of $1 million or more to fund a seniors' housing initiative that was formally initiated when council passed a bylaw establishing a task force to explore seniors' housing initiatives at locations throughout the county.

The task force setup itself is based on the idea of collaboration between the county and local advocates for housing. It calls for county council members to engage members of the public from each township to work on specific projects.

The first project that is on the horizon is in Marysville, where there is a piece of land on offer within the hamlet, and the hope is to build a small scale project, under five units.

The big question for the Marysville project, and for all future projects as well, will be financing. As of yet there is no developer on the horizon and that might be because it is difficult to make a profit building small-scale housing projects, particularly those that are being marketed to seniors

 

As part of a strategy to combat homelessness in Kingston and Frontenac County the Social Services Department of the City of Kingston undertook what they call a point in time inventory of the homeless populations in Kingston and a different kind of survey in Frontenac County.

In Kingston the inventory was done by sending a small army of volunteers out into the streets and alley-ways on one evening in October to find people who were sleeping out of doors and talk to them about their day-to-day lives.

The survey found 106 homeless people, although only those who were located on the streets and in shelters on that night were counted. In order to look at the homeless population in Frontenac County, another strategy needed to be developed, because it would be unrealistic to send volunteers combing the countryside looking for homeless people.

Instead, the housing department of the City of Kingston contacted social service agencies that work with the people in the county who are at risk of homelessness. These agencies include: Southern Frontenac Community Services, Northern Frontenac Community Services, Family & Children's Services, Frontenac Community Mental Health and Addictions Services, and Ontario Works. By canvassing their clients, it was determined that there are 42 people in Frontenac County who are homeless.

While only seven of that number are homeless in that they were living out of doors on the dates that the survey was conducted between (October 21 and November 1) the other 35 are what the preliminary report on the findings called “hidden homeless, meaning that they do not appear to be homeless; rather, they are couch surfing, doubled up with family, or in other arrangements that do not conform to the homeless stereotype.”

It should be noted that because of the different methodologies, the results for the City of Kingston and Frontenac County cannot be compared to each other in any meaningful way.

Of the homeless population in Frontenac County, a couple of details were highlighted in a preliminary media release from the City of Kingston Housing department in December. One is that in Frontenac County 40% of the homeless population identified are parents with an average of two children each, while in Kingston more of the homeless population is single. As well, in Frontenac County, 37% of the homeless population identified themselves as Aboriginal, when only 5% of the total population in the County identifies as Aboriginal.

Northern Frontenac Community Services (NFCS) provides services to children, youth, adults and seniors and both the child and adult counsellors with the agency provided information for the study. Most of the other agencies that were consulted are affiliated with NFCS so the scope of the problem was not a surprise to the agency.

Don Amos, the executive director of NFCS, said that the problem of homelessness “is a major concern for our agency. It affects the children, youth, adults and seniors whom we serve and it is not just a trend; it has been a problem for a long time but the numbers are increasing.”

Amos said that his agency certainly welcomes this initiative by the City and looks forward to NFCS participating in the search for solutions in the coming months.

“Homelessness is harder to identify in a rural setting because it is not a matter of people sleeping on grates or under bridges, but the impacts are real and the solutions will have to be community-based,” he said.

A complete report on the point in time study of the homeless population in Kingston and Frontenac County will be released to the public in the coming weeks

Back to HomeFeature Article - May 21, 2009 City staff recommend funding county housing project.By Jeff Green

Under a provincially funded program called DOORS (Developing Opportunities for Ontario Renters) the City of Kingston has received over $5 million for the construction of new low-income housing.

The city, which has responsibility for not-for-profit housing within Frontenac County, is on the verge of allocating $750,000 of that money towards the construction of a five-unit townhouse on Clement Road near Sharbot Lake.

A staff report recommending supporting four projects in the city, along with the Sharbot Lake project, was presented to Kingston City Council for approval on Tuesday night (May 19). It is the culmination of two years of administrative work by city staff to develop the protocol for the program.

The Sharbot Lake project comes from the North Frontenac Not-For-Profit Housing Corporation and will be built on land owned by the corporation.

Among the features of the project are the high environmental standards in design and construction that it proposes to use. A Canadian standard, called LEED (Leadership in Environmental Design) has been developed for building, and the North Frontenac Housing Corporation proposal aims to reach the LEED Gold standard, which would make it the first project in Frontenac County to reach that level.

It includes a design to take advantage of prevailing sun and wind conditions, in-floor heating, and innovative building materials.

The units will be 800 square feet in size, will be available to seniors, and will be rented at the social housing rate.

Among the features of the project that fit with the DOORS program were its location in Frontenac County, its proximity to the services in Sharbot Lake, and the LEED design.

If city approval of the project is secured, it will require three zoning processes to be completed through the Township of Central Frontenac. The DOORS program requires that the land for the project be severed from the larger parcel that the housing corporation owns, and it will require a re-zoning process to comply with township requirements.

A further complication has arisen. The required zoning for the project, rural multi-residential, is not a zoning category within the township’s Official Plan, so an Official Plan amendment will be required. Official Plan amendments need to go to the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for approval.

At a meeting of Central Frontenac Council last month, Council committed to moving forward on the zoning issues as quickly as possible once the DOORS funding is approved, but the ministry’s timetable is another matter.

According to the City of Kingston staff report, the project is “anticipated” to start construction in January of 2010 and be ready for occupancy in July of 2010.

The time frame for zoning approvals and the Canadian winter may have an effect on those dates, one way or another.