Back to HomeFeature Article - April 30, 2009 Central Frontenac Councilby Jeff Green

CF Council gets “the vision thing”

For several months Central Frontenac Councilors have been talking about setting some time aside at a meeting for a ‘visioning session’ and this week they spent an hour talking about where they would like to see the township go in the next few years.

The conversation focussed on potential large scale recreation facilities, whether the township should abandon some older facilities, and then shifted to a debate about the merits of a proposal to build a multi-use township office/railway museum/library in Sharbot Lake.

There was nothing approaching a consensus after an hour, when it was decided that a public visioning session should be held on June 10th at 7:30 at the Olden Hall.

Long time Councilor Bob Harvey began the debate by asking a question about recreation.

Do you put rinks in every hamlet, or do you build one rink, one good facility? Should we find a central spot put a really good facility there?” he asked.

“I think we need to look at neighbourhoods, rather than a central facility,” said Councilor John Purdon.

“Maybe a curling rink would be an idea for this region,” said Mayor Gutowski.

It was all too much for Councilor Frances Smith.

“I’m thinking we just went through a rough budget where we didn’t have enough money to do what we needed to do.

Smith added that she was troubled about talk of new facilities when “we have two major issues. We have an office that is overflowing, and we have a railroad museum that’s been before us for two years. Why should we look at a bunch of new visions when we didn’t have the will to deal with our existing ideas.”

Mayor Gutowski said she did not think that the proposed site for a railway museum/township office is large enough.

“I don’t think we can fit a septic system or parking in there, but we need to study it in order to find out,” she said, “and certainly the public needs to be part of the process.”

The items mentioned in the session will be summarised by staff and brought to the public session on June 10th.

Addition to township office – Faced with a pressing need for space, CAO John Duchene proposed last month that a 1,400 square foot addition be built to the existing township office on the east side of the building next to the library branch.

“It does not impinge on any long term plans the township has” Duchene said at the time, “but it will bring relief to an urgent problem.”

The public works and building departments are currently located in portables in the office parking lot.

Duchene’s proposal, which has been costed at $200,000, made its way into one of two options for an infrastructure grant application that needs to be submitted by the end of the week.

Before the decision was made about the grant application, however, Frances Smith made a motion that the extension be built regardless.

“We can decide if we want to apply for the grant, or use money we’ve set aside for that purpose [$150,000] but we need to decide if we are in favour of expanding the office,” she said.

“I don’t think, in hard times, that people want to see money spent on staff or council,” said Gary Smith. “I would be against trying to rush this forward.”

“I support this, said Mayor Gutowski. “I know the public does not like elaborate buildings, but this is basic office space.”

In a recorded vote, Councilors Frances Smith, Bob Harvey, Jeff Matson, Philip Smith, and Mayor Gutowski supported the motion. Deputy Mayor Gary Smith and Councilor John Purdon voted against it. Bill Snyder and Norm Guntensperger were absent.

Grant application – In the category of ‘go big or go home CAO Duchene proposed that Council apply for $2.7 million in public works projects to the Federal Infrastructure Stimulus Program. If successful, the township will have two years to complete the projects, and will have to pay 1/3 of the cost, or $900,000, which Duchene said could be done using reserve funds and perhaps a bank loan.

Proposed projects include: a salt dome at the Olden Garage, the municipal office expansion project that Council had just approved, 17 km of paving on Long Lake road, 4 km of paving on the Westport Road, 2.6 kilometres on the Mountain Grove road, and 2 kilometres on the Piccadilly road, paving on the Wagner road, the Arena Boundary Road, and previously approved paving on the Oak Flats Road. Also included is major gravel rehabilitation and ditching on 50 kilometres of gravel roads, and work on the busy waste site roads. In addition, two bridges will be repaired if the township receives the grant.

The proposal was accepted. Only councillor Philip Smith voted against it.

Another federal granting program, this one for recreation facilities, has a deadline this week, and Central Frontenac will be applying for $42,000 for playground equipment for the Oso beach. If successful, it will cost the township $14,000.

Planning costs revealed – At an earlier meeting, Councilor Guntensperger had asked for a report on how much the township pays each year to planning consultant Glenn Tunnock.

In 2007, the township paid Tunnock Consulting $6,300 and in 2008 $4,350. Projected costs this year are higher, at $16,460, mainly because it will cost $10,000 for Tunnock Consulting to prepare a new comprehensive zoning bylaw for the township. In case any one is worried that Glenn Tunnock is not making enough money by working for Central Frontenac, not to worry, he made $15,000 from the township in 2007, and $30,000 in 2008. Most of the money is charged to property developers for projects that Tunnock works on.

Senior's Housing - Complications could slow senior’s housing project The North Frontenac Non Profit Housing Corporation has submitted an application for funding to the City of Kingston to build a five unit seniors complex on Clement Road, where the corporation owns six acres of land.

The corporation already owns a multi-residential building on the site, and was hoping no zoning changes would be required. It turns out that the existing units, which were built in 1992, were in what is called ‘a rural multi-residential zone’ at the time, but under Central Frontenac’s laws the zoning categories have changed.

While the existing building is legal, it is only so because it was already up when the Central Frontenac Zoning Bylaw took effect some ten years later. It is called a ‘legal-non conforming use’.

The upshot is that in order to build the new complex, not only will the property need to be re - zoned, an Official Plan amendment will also be required, because there is no such a thing as a ‘rural multi-residential zone’ in the current Central Frontenac Official Plan.

In a bid to hurry the process along, Council asked Planning Co-ordinator Cathy MacMunn to initiate the Official Plan amendment and re-zoning at the same time, which she said she could do.

“The municipality can show leadership by embarking immediately on an Official Plan amendment,” said CAO John Duchene. Hopefully the funders will see that the municipality is 100% behind the project.”

The Housing Corporation had hoped to build the units this year, but that timeframe is now in doubt.

(Publisher/Editors note: Jeff Green sits as a member of the Board Of Directors of North Frontenac Not-for-Profit Housing Corporation where he serves as Treasurer. It is an unpaid position.)

Mayor Janet Gutowski conducts a sign war.

People travelling along Road 38 south of Sharbot Lake may have noticed some unusual signs along the road over the past week.

“Mayor – Seniors should not be put in forests” is one of them.

The signs were put up by a citizens’ group that is opposed to a plan to build a five-plex affordable housing complex for seniors on a property located about 1 km down the Clement Road.

The housing unit is slated to be located at the end of a 100 metre curved driveway off Clement Road, behind a stand of trees. Clement Road is located about 3 km south of the hamlet of Sharbot Lake.

The Township of Central Frontenac approved Zoning and Official Plan amendments in order to enable the project, which is to be built by North Frontenac Not-For-Profit Housing using provincial grant money.

A group including two business owners on Clement Road, Rick Greenstreet and Tim Hagle, as well as Clement Road resident Roy Sepa, launched an appeal of the township’s zoning approvals to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), which is conducting hearings on those appeals this week in Sharbot Lake.

“Property owners in the area wanted to show their opposition to the project and the way it has been forced through by the township,” said Roy Sepa, “and the signs are a good way of allowing that kind of statement to be made.”

Central Frontenac Mayor Janet Gutowski, who has been a staunch supporter of the project, noticed the signs and decided to pose with a sign of her own, which said “I agree, so I support affordable seniors housing.”

“So do we,” said Roy Sepa when he learned of Gutowski’s sign, “but this is the wrong location for it, and the way this is being done is wrong and should be stopped. That’s what we all believe. There are much better locations for this in Sharbot Lake, and we would volunteer to help bring it about if it was done in a public way.”

Sepa said there are over 10 active members on what he called the Clement-Wagner Road residents’ group and many more supporters.

In order to conduct the OMB hearing, Sepa said the appellants are out about $10,000 in consultants’ fees and other costs.

“This is a good project,” said Mayor Gutowski, “North Frontenac Not-for-Profit Housing is adding much needed housing stock for people who need it and the township has done everything right. I’m happy to stand behind it.”

There are other groups that stand behind the project as well.

“I find those signs condescending to seniors,” said Catherine Tysick, who works with the elderly as the coordinator for Community Support Services with Northern Frontenac Community Services. “Most of the 497 seniors that we serve live in this area because they want to. A lot of them live on roads that are very remote. Clement Road is close to services. Those five units will give a few people some more choice as they grow older.”

Tysick also said that she attended a meeting of the Seniors Community Advisory Committee, which is made up of members of seniors’ groups from throughout North and Central Frontenac.

“They all wanted to know how the project was progressing,” she said, “they see it as a potential benefit to themselves and the community.”

The OMB hearing will not be concerned about public opinion regarding the project. Whether the township followed accepted practices under the Ontario Municipal Act will be the focus of the hearings.

On that score, Roy Sepa said that the consultant who is working for himself and his two co-appellants has found that the township did not “satisfy all the requirements regarding assessments and reviews, and the process they used was insufficient, inadequate, and even questionable.”

Sepa said that even if they are not successful at the OMB, his group would continue to oppose the housing project.

“We are stalwart in our mission on this,” he said.

The OMB hearing is scheduled for three days. A decision will follow in the coming weeks.

North Frontenac Not-for-Profit Housing hopes to begin construction in the spring for occupation by the fall of this year. 

 

The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) has confirmed the Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw amendments that were needed for North Frontenac Not-For-Profit Housing to construct a five-unit seniors’ complex off of Clement Road in Central Frontenac Township.

An OMB hearing was held in Sharbot Lake in February. Three appellants, Roy Sepa, Tim Hagel, and Rick Greenstreet, who all live or have interests on Clement Road in the vicinity of the proposed building, had launched a challenge to the zoning approvals for the project that Central Frontenac Council granted last fall.

In his decision, which was released last Thursday, March 18, OMB Commissioner M.C. Denhez said that the board has “not been persuaded of any inadequacy of the [township's] specified conditions for the project, or in the overall thrust of the Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw amendments.”

In the body of his report, Commissioner Denhez addressed a range of concerns that were raised by the appellants, ranging from the rural nature of the property to traffic safety concerns to questions about whether the project conforms to the provincial policy statement. None of these objections held sway with the commissioner.

The ruling did accept the appeals in part, but only on more bureaucratic matters that do not reflect on the viability of the project.

Counsel for the appellants had pointed out that the road frontage figure of 20 metres contemplated by the Zoning Bylaw amendment did not fit with the reality on the ground, so the OMB ruled that the wording be changed to 15 metres. As well, a wording change specifying that “5 dwelling units” will be permitted on the property will replace the original wording that “5 or more” dwelling units will be permitted.

“The appeals are otherwise dismissed. That is the ruling of the board,” concluded Commissioner Denhez at the end of his eight-page decision.

The ruling does not ensure that the project will proceed, however. While the zoning question is settled, the property will need to be surveyed and a site plan agreement with Central Frontenac Township will need to be approved by council.

Then there is the matter of setback from the high water mark on an adjacent wetland. The building and septic system must not encroach within 30 metres of the high water mark. That mark has been estimated but not completely defined by the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA), and a technician from MVCA will be doing a site determine the exact location f the high water mark and the 30 metre setback.

As the OMB report put it, “If professional measurements ultimately make the project un-buildable, it will simply not be built.”

Peggy Hurley, Chair of the Board of Directors of North Frontenac Not-for-Profit Housing, is now confident that the project will go ahead.

She said the OMB ruling is “good news not only for our board because we can now go ahead with this project, but it is good news for seniors in our community. There is a big demand in our community for housing for people who are older and cannot maintain their home but want to remain in the community. This five-unit building will provide a way for them to stay in the area and be near their families. It will also be as environmentally sustainable a building as we can possibly build with the money we have available.”

Roy Sepa does not share Hurley’s enthusiasm for the OMB’s decision, or the location of the project. When contacted by the News, Roy Sepa said he had not yet read through the OMB decision in detail, but that regardless of the outcome of the hearing, “Our position hasn’t changed. It is still the wrong decision to make.”

Sepa characterized the OMB appeal as a “partial success because it pointed out some serious deficiencies in the not-for-profit housing corporation’s strategies.” Nonetheless he says that the group of neighbours who have banded together to oppose the new development will not be giving up the fight.

“We plan to monitor and oppose this over the next six months. We will be opposing it at every single turn.”

This could include becoming active in the municipal election campaign, addressing the matter at council, on the provincial level, and even at the building site itself if and when construction starts.

Sepa that he thinks “the OMB made a major mistake by saying that a rural area is suitable for a seniors’ home, and we will be drawing that to the attention of the premier’s office because we believe the ruling contravenes the provincial policy statement.”

While the ruling acknowledged the concerns, it said that the proposal is not for a “seniors’ home on the model of a high-care nursing facility, but rather for affordable units for occupants who have reached an age threshold and are independent”. For that reason and others the OMB concluded that the project “does not undermine the provincial policy statement” in terms of location.

Mr Sepa said his group would also be considering challenging the OMB ruling in the Ontario Superior Court. His main message was for the Board of North Frontenac Not-For-Profit Housing, which he said should reconsider its decision to build on this particular site. “Instead of creating a rift in the community they should go back to their funder and ask for leave to transfer the funding to a location in the Village of Sharbot Lake.

Jane Drew, the Chief Administrative Office for North Frontenac Not-for-Profit Housing, said, “The fact that we already owned the property on Clement Road was counted in our favour when we sought funding for this project, and in any event the funding commitment that we have received is tied to this project as it has been proposed.

“The Clement Road location was suitable for our funder [which is the city of Kingston] as well as the Township of Central Frontenac, and it has now been endorsed by the Ontario Municipal Board. We look forward to building five affordable housing units for area seniors. It will not satisfy the demand that is out there but it is a start.” 

A company based in Sault St. Marie is planning to transport an out-of-commission Great Lakes barge to Frontenac County and convert it to a seniors’ housing complex.

The plan, which is still in its early stages and will need to clear a Class 5 Environmental impact study, and a separate study concerning septic requirements, was presented in preliminary form at a Central Frontenac Council meeting last week.

“The shipping business is not what it used to be,” said Gerry Westheim, the project proponent.

Westheim, a real estate developer from Sault St. Marie, said he hopes to transport a

405’ long by 35’ wide barge, The Ruby Star, to a shipyard in Toronto, where it will be disassembled for dry land transport to Sharbot Lake.

“We have specially trained crews to do this work, and it will take three weeks to put the boat back together at its new home.”

Westheim’s plan is to permanently moor the boat in the west basin of Sharbot Lake, near the government dock, and then hire local contractors to build one and two bedroom seniors’ apartments on the deck of the barge.

“I have experience with this kind of project in the Netherlands and thought it would work just as well in Lake Country, where there is a shortage of waterfront property but no shortage of water,” he said.

Tentative plans are for a three-storey modular complex, on the model of the Habitat housing complex in Montreal.

He said he hopes to have 100 – 150 units available for lease or purchase within three years, but members of Central Frontenac Council said there would be zoning requirements to deal with first.

“I’m supportive of this idea,” said the Mayor. “It could be the kind of boon Central Frontenac needs, but we must go slow. Planning for this will be difficult because it is unprecedented.”

The township planner said “barge developments of this sort are not contemplated in the township’s Official Plan. There is no reference to anything like it, so it will require extensive study by all commenting agencies, not only the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority but perhaps Fisheries and Oceans as well.”

Westheim said that special aquaculture techniques and materials will make the barge a boon rather than a hindrance to the Sharbot Lake fish population.

As well, a separate, smaller barge, will be brought in as a kind of floating septic holding tank, which will be emptied monthly in a secure, on shore, environment.

“There is no chance that the lake will be compromised,” he said.

The Mayor talked about the benefits of this project for the local economy.

“Not only will the tax base be expanded, but the barge will be located only steps away from local facilities, and it will provide an opportunity for lakeside living for a new cohort of people,” he said.

“It is a stress free way for people to enjoy the water,” Westheim said. “The complex will also include a health club, shuffle board, and swimming opportunities.”

The project is targeted at a group that Westheim described as the “moderately wealthy”, with condominium units selling from $150,000 and up. Westheim said that he has also been in contact with public housing officials locally and in Kingston to explore the possibility of a public housing component to the project provided provincial construction grants are available.

Waterfront property owners on the west basin of Sharbot Lake got wind of the proposal the day before the council meeting and a small delegation was on hand.

“We think this is a dangerous proposal which would set a terrible precedent,” said Sharbot Lake Property Owner’s Association (SLPOA) Past President Earl McRary. “The impact on the lake of hundreds of new people alone will be staggering, and what of the winter ice. What if these people get stuck on the water and can’t get off.”

Gerry Westheim said the barge would be entirely stable and would be able to withstand the four seasons, and would be environmentally benign.

“This is a green project, using the latest, tested technologically. It is a LEAD project,” Wesheim said

“I don’t think the township should agree to putting seniors on barges,” McRary countered, saying that the project will be opposed “at every turn” by the SLPOA.

Undaunted, Westheim said he will be preparing applications for zoning bylaw and official plan amendments and will be contacting all the relevant authorities in the near future.

“We will meet or exceed all zoning and environmental requirements,” he said.

“We should not be putting the elderly onto barges,” said Mcrary, shaking his head.

A five-unit affordable living housing project on Clement Road in Central Frontenac got the green light in the form of a building permit last week.

“We are pleased to have the building permit in place,” said Jane Drew, the general manager for North Frontenac Not-for Profit Housing, which is sponsoring the project. “It has been a long slog getting to this point.”

The project received provincial funding support through the housing office of the City of Kingston about 14 months ago, but has been mired in zoning delays and a hearing before the Ontario Municipal Board, as well as a last-minute issue around compliance with a site plan agreement with the township’s planning department.

The site plan agreement between North Frontenac Not-For-Profit Housing and the Township of Central Frontenac stipulated that the building must be located 30 metres or more from some low ground that has been identified as a wetland by Mississippi Valley Conservation (MVC).

A group of neighbours, who have been actively opposing the project from the start and who took the zoning approval to the Ontario Municipal Board last year, also contested the assertions about setbacks in the surveyor sketch that was submitted to the township by the housing corporation.

“We are convinced that as per the municipal board hearings that the setback of 30 metres from the wetland is undo-able,” said Roy Sepa, who owns the adjacent property to the new development and is a member of the group opposing it.

Earlier this month the group approached the township and asked them not to issue a building permit. They also approached MVC.

Staff members from MVC and the township met on the site on August 3 last week. “We are here only as a commenting agency, at the request of the township. We are not here as a regulatory agency” said Diane Reid of MVC.

A biologist from MVC found that the edge of the wetland was at approximately the same location as indicated by the surveyor, but there was a question about the high water mark.

The next morning, Reid was on site again, along with the surveyor. After that meeting, a building permit was issued.

For her part, Central Frontenac Mayor Janet Gutowski said she is supportive of the project and is pleased that the project will now be going ahead. In her re-election website both “development of housing geared for seniors” and “sound municipal planning” are listed as ideas that Gutowski actively supports. “I believe this project is a step forward for our township,” she said. “It will only provide housing for a few seniors, but it is a start.

When contacted on Monday August 9 this week, Roy Sepa said he had not yet heard back from Mississippi Valley Conservation, but even the issuance of a building permit will not spell the end of the group’s determination to stop the project.

“We are still solid in our opposition, and we want to ensure that the right things are done, that all of the rules are followed. We are not done with this at all.”

When asked what their next move might be, Sepa said, “Just watch us.”

 

Photo: Jane Drew and Cam Allemn survey the damagea at the Site of North Frontenac Non-Profit Housings' seniors housing project.

On Monday morning, September 27, Arno Huerter arrived with his crew to continue putting up styrofoam forms at the construction site of a five-unit affordable housing building off the Clement Road near Sharbot Lake.

“One of my guys called over and told me to look at the side of the building,” he said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. “Two of the walls were down. At first I thought it was the wind but when I looked more closely I realised that the damage was not likely caused by wind because wind does not discriminate, it would push down all the walls.

“Also, the way the wall it is constructed one course is hooked to the next and there is re-bar in it as well. It would take a pretty strong wind. It looks to me like it was pushed over.”

There were high winds in the area on Friday night, September 25.

The project manager for the construction project is Cam Allen. “I stopped by the site on Saturday afternoon, September 26 at around 2:30 and walked around the building. Everything was fine,” Allen said. “But something may have happened on Saturday night.”

One of the tenants in an adjacent building has been keeping an eye on the site for Allen. On Saturday night, the tenant was away, but his son saw a truck pull right up to the construction site and a man got out and spent some time at the site. The tenant’s son took down the license plate number of the truck.

The OPP were called in, and an officer attended the site late on Monday afternoon to gather information. As of Tuesday, OPP had made no comment on the state of their investigation.

Meanwhile the North Frontenac Not-For-Profit Housing Corporation is facing extra costs and delays in their construction project as the result of the damage.

“We don’t have any budget for extra costs but we will have to find the money somewhere,” said Jane Drew, general manager of the corporation. “We have also had to tighten security as the result of this, so we will be having someone watching the site 24 hours a day. That costs money as well.”

 

The County of Frontenac wishes to invite community members to our second phase public consultations on the Municipal Housing Strategy currently under joint development by the City of Kingston and the County of Frontenac.

The Municipal Housing Strategy is being developed in three phases to help guide future housing programs, policies, and initiatives in the region. Once in place, the Strategy will implement minimum targets for the provision of affordable housing.

First phase public consultations took place in early October of 2010 and compiled community perspectives on regional housing needs and issues. During second phase public consultations, officials will share their findings from the first phase public consultations and discuss strategies for overcoming identified obstacles. Based on your input, the Municipal Housing Strategy will present community-based solutions to address specific housing challenges raised during public consultations.

Second phase public consultations have been scheduled in Sharbot Lake and Kingston for November 18 at:

Oso Community Hall, Sharbot Lake, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. , and

Portsmouth Olympic Harbour (Sail Room), Kingston, 7 to 9 p.m.

People interested in attending should contact Hollis Amey by November 15. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 613-546-2695, extension 4973.

Members of the public and various representatives from the townships and local organizations attended a public meeting at Oso Hall on November 18 concerning the Municipal Housing Strategy for the City of Kingston and County of Frontenac.

Consultants Ed Starr and Ken Foulds, along with Cheryl Hitchen, manager of community programming for the City of Kingston, outlined the strategy they have put together in the hopes of finalizing recommendations that will be presented to councils in January 2011.

The team broke the strategy down into three consecutive phases: 1) Housing Demand and Supply Analysis; 2) Housing Policies and Action; and 3) Housing Strategy Implementation. To date, a number of consultations have and are continuing to take place with the public at large, various focus groups and key informant groups, which will wrap up phase one. Organizers hope to have a completed report on housing supply and demand, which they plan to make available to the public in the near future.

The presentation outlined some key emerging issues: an increase in an aging population, a low diversification in available housing with the majority existing as single family dwellings, a decrease in rental units despite an increasing demand and the increase in temporary populations which is affecting both the rental and owner markets.

Organizers next outlined how they intend to address these issues by: encouraging more coordination between partners to advance the housing agenda; by offering a broader range of tools and resources to maintain and increase the housing supply; putting into place a more flexible regulatory environment to foster diversity and affordability; expanding the capacity to act on opportunities as they arise; and by increasing the focus on housing for those with special needs, particularly seniors and youth.

After outlining their plan and their initial findings, organizers opened up the floor to hear concerns of the individuals in attendance.

One pointed out that the chosen title “Building Capacity” should include the term “sustainable” since often, projects are successfully put up but prove not to be sustainable in the long term.

Councilor John Purdon corrected an error in the presentation, which overlooked the fact that though the County of Frontenac does not have an official plan, each of the four townships within it does. This led him to stress that the housing plan should “look more to the local levels since there are big differences throughout. He continued, “It should be noted that the contacts at the local levels are very important.”

Ed Starr responded that looking at the official plans of the townships would be part of their exercise in the next phase.

Another resident mentioned that information defining certain benchmarks highlighted in their study might not pertain to rural communities. For example rural residents, unlike those in the city, must travel to get to services; in Kingston that is not the case.

Councilor-elect John McDougall asked for clarification of the process of communication between the City of Kingston, Frontenac County and the townships. Ed Starr responded, “The communication comes through Cheryl’s group which manages social housing across the area.”

Mayor Janet Gutowski pointed out the fact that housing issues will likely gain priority and focus with the recent addition of more councilors to county council. “We’re optimistic that these councilors will have better communication at the township levels which will foster more depth and might lead to the possibility of creating a broader committee to liaise more directly with County Council.”

Don Amos, who works with Northern Frontenac Community Services, raised his concern that there is “nothing in this area that is considered a true safe haven for individuals at risk, be they youth, seniors, or spouses,” adding, “We need something here a little closer to home for these individuals.”

Ken Foulds addressed that issue and brought up the notion of “service clusters” that might fill that void - where a node is created that might contain a number of different organizations and related applicable services.

Regarding Hinchinbrooke and Sharbot Lake Public schools, both of which are slated to be declared surplus in 2012, Ed Starr wondered about the potential for seniors housing and asked the listeners how best to go about organizing a plan in order to take advantage of that opportunity. Janet Gutowski responded, “Leadership will have to establish priorities and communicate with our planners.” She raised the issue of the challenge to create capacity and a coordinated effort within the government to address such an opportunity. She also highlighted the added expenses that can arise when environmental studies are required in rural settings, especially projects that are located close to water and other sensitive areas.

John McDougall highlighted the fact that, “The county is a collection of small communities and no matter what we consider, we have to keep in mind that the viability of these communities depends on the fact that members want to remain here for their entire lives. So even though certain aspects of municipal housing might be handled by the city, this important component must always be considered.”

Don Amos said, “Housing has a regional sense to it...and a study that looks at the whole picture is very worthwhile.”

Both consultants agreed and said they were coming away from the meeting with an increased understanding of rural housing issues. “We gained the understanding here today that people have their hearts and souls in these communities and are looking for ways to be able to stay here. As far as we are concerned, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and the determination we witnessed in this room will definitely translate into some very positive ideas and strategies.”

 

Photo: Sandy Rogers and Helen Kimmett display their wreaths and seasonal sparkle balls in Sydenham at the SWI's annual craft sale

The Sydenham Women's Institute Annual Craft Sale took place on October 27 at the Legion with over 20 vendors. Sandy Rogers and Helen Kimmett are two cousins from Napanee who went into business just this year. They named their business "Creative Cousins", and at Saturday's sale they were offering shoppers an item that is making waves in the seasonal holiday gift market. The two ladies began making their seasonal “sparkle balls” after a trip to Florida, where they saw them at a flea market.

“We saw them and loved them and decided to try them out ourselves,” Sandy said.

The sparkle balls consist of a central ball of Christmas lights, around which is arranged a spherical mass of plastic cups, with each cup housing a single light inside of it. The balls are roughly two feet in diameter and can be used as either indoor or outdoor decorations. The cousins have sold numerous sparkle balls so far this year and will be participating in a number of upcoming Christmas craft shows throughout the area. Their products, which also include decorative wreaths, decorative lit blocks and candles, can be found on Facebook at Creative Cousins/Napanee.

 

 

As part of its Integrated Sustainability Initiative, Frontenac County has commissioned the same consultants who prepared the social housing strategy for the City of Kingston to complete a Seniors Community Housing pilot project study for the county.

Ed Starr from SHS Consulting and Ken Foulds from Re/Fact Consulting are using 2006 census data, as well as data they collected working on the Kingston project (which had a rural component) along with information from a population study Frontenac County completed last April, as the basis for a more focused project this time around.

This initiative is about identifying the kinds of projects that would be of greatest benefit to residents, have the best chance of being built, and what it would take to bring them about.

To that end, meetings were held with stakeholder groups at the county offices in Glenburnie and in Sharbot Lake last week, and public meetings are going to be taking place at up to 8 locations throughout Frontenac County in mid to late March.

In the presentations at the start of the meeting, Foulds and Starr laid out the statistical background for the county.

The full time population in Frontenac County has increased substantially over the last 15 years, from 23,760 in 1996 to 28,100 in 2010, an 18.3% increase. The bulk of that increase has been in South Frontenac. Of the 4340 new residents, 3600 are located in South Frontenac, which has seen a 23% population increase as compared to 13% in North Frontenac, 6% in Central Frontenac and 20% in Frontenac Islands.

(This information will be updated this week when the population and dwelling results from the 2011 census are released)

Other factors that are being taken into account include a projection that in Kingston and Frontenac County the proportion of seniors over 75 years old will double over the next 25 years, to 15% of the population. As well, the average income of senior households in Frontenac County is lower than it is for Kingston and the province as a whole, although only 11% of seniors in Frontenac County spend over 30% of their income on shelter,

Another issue that the consultants have made note of is the housing stock in the county, which has been and is expected to continue to be made up almost exclusively (well over 90%) of single detached homes. And in contradiction to the stated goals of township Official Plans, residential development is expected to continue to be taking place on rural and waterfront lots, outside of the county’s hamlets, where the plans say development is to be focused.

All of these factors led the consultants to conclude that seniors in Frontenac County are going to need more supports going forward if they are going to stay in their own homes, and that the forms of housing being built are not consistent with the particular needs of the seniors living in the county. Finances are also a limiting factor when seniors are making housing choices, and there is a need for more affordable housing options so seniors will be able to remain in their own communities.

John McDougall is a member of Frontenac County Council from the Verona area, and he has taken on the portfolio for housing and social housing. This has meant working closely with the housing department of the City of Kingston, which manages housing services for Frontenac County as well.

The housing initiative that is now underway involves the county directly in the development of new housing projects for the first time.

“The goal of this exercise is to come up with a spectrum of solutions that will inform our planning for years, and to identify a pilot project that we can try to bring about in the short term,” said McDougall.

One problem that will have to be addressed will be that of finances, because particularly in the case of social housing, projects only get built when federal or provincial money is available.

(Further information about public meetings will be available later this month)