On April 13, a public input and information session regarding the implementation of a Community Improvement Plan (CIP) for Harrowsmith was held at the Golden Links hall, with roughly 20 members of the community attending. The township plans to roll out the CIP this year and the meeting was led by County of Frontenac community planner, Reid Shepherd.

The meeting had two objectives. The first was to outline the CIP program, which offers $70,000 in funds to residents and business owners.

The primary elements of the CIP include grant and loan programs to residents and business owners to support facade improvements and commercial space funding, as well as help for municipalities to fund public space improvements and local infrastructure.

To date, CIPs have been implemented in Verona (2011), Sharbot Lake, (2012), Marysville (2013) and in North Frontenac this year. Shepherd said that the Harrowsmith CIP is nicely timed and will coincide with the plan to improve the village's main intersection at Road 38.

The second aim of the meeting was for county staff to hear what residents would like to see achieved with the CIP. Guests were split into groups to discuss and list their priorities, their visions for the future, and what programs and objectives they hope the CIP addresses.

Surprisingly, the guests all shared a similar vision. The main focuses appeared to be on facade improvement to some of the buildings in the village, and the hope of attracting new businesses to the area.

Beautifying the village center was also a common aim, and the addition of flowers, benches, and bicycle racks was suggested. Many attendees also agreed that a pathway should be constructed to connect Centennial Park to the trail, and that a community building at the trail hub with a washroom and other facilities would benefit trail users.

Regarding the types of programs to implement, many agreed that grant/loan programs be geared to attract new businesses, since many store fronts have been vacant in the village center.

Other suggestions were: building an outdoor skating rink; dealing with derelict buildings; rehabilitating the old cheese factory property; keeping St. Paul's United Church as a community hub; and looking into investing in more seniors’ housing in the area.

It was also agreed to expand the CIP target area to include the Golden Links Hall and the cemetery. Reid Shepherd said he was pleased with the turnout and the commitment shown by the attendees, who included not only community leaders but also county and township staff; namely, county planner Joe Gallivan, CAO Wayne Orr, John McDougall, Ron Vandewal, and Anne Marie Young.

The next steps will be for Shepherd to draft a plan based on the input from the meeting. The plan will be presented to council for their review, and will be followed by a public meeting. Shepherd will then seek council's final approval for the plan.

Collins Lake subdivision proposal controversial

Standing room was scarce as Storrington residents crowded into Council chambers on April 5 for a public meeting to hear and comment upon a proposal for a 51-unit, 60-hectare subdivision above Collins Lake, south of Inverary. Nineteen individuals spoke of their concerns and since then at least 18 letters have come to Council, not all from the verbal presenters. None have been in support of the proposal.

Most of the speakers identified as residents of Lyons Landing, an older, 100-unit subdivision which abuts the area proposed for development, and which would share an access road out to Holmes Road, just east of Perth Road.

The public meeting was called by the township at the request of the County Council, which is the decision-making body for all subdivision proposals within the County. South Frontenac is one of the ‘commenting agencies’ in this process, and also would need to rezone the property before it could be developed.

Township Planner Lindsay Mills’ report to Council carried three recommendations: 1) receive the comments and attachments; 2) defer any decision about rezoning until comments from the public meeting are reviewed; 3) forward the planning report, including attachments and comments from the public meeting, to the County.

Mills’ summary of the proposal pointed out the areas which complied with the Township’s Official Plan and those which called for site plan requirements. It said Public Works will need to review the impact on the area roads of the additional traffic from 51 more residences. It also highlighted the peer review of the hydrogeological and terrain analysis and servicing reports done by Malroze Engineering.

The Malroz review, which Mills appended in full, concludes that: “There are a number of concerns with respect to the water quality and quantity that we recommend be addressed to the County’s satisfaction prior to approval of the proposed subdivision…Considering the variability of the groundwater quality and quantity data we are of the opinion that the current studies do not support servicing of the site through private individual services at this time.” The same review lists 24 items in the developer’s report that are contradictory or unclear. It also asks for a copy of a 1990 report prepared for the same site by Oliver, Mangione, McCalla and Associates, which the developers reference, but do not provide.

The public meeting lasted two hours and there were 19 speakers, many applauded by the onlookers. Chief concern was quality and quantity of water and fears that 51 new wells would lower the aquifer for both the new development and the existing Lyons Landing wells. “People will be drinking each others’ urine,” commented one speaker.

Other common concerns related to:

• traffic and safety at entrances to the main roads, as well as pedestrian safety along Lakefield Drive, the road adjoining the two subdivisions

• the large number of additional homes to be added to a relatively rural area,

• loss of green space

• environmental threats to wildlife: habitat loss

• lack of space in existing schools

• water run-off and potential pollution of Collins Lake

• loss of a popular area for hiking and picnicking

• lack of access to the above-mentioned 1990 report.

Worth noting was lack of mention of the several sites of archeological interest on the site, which are currently being examined in greater detail.

Due perhaps to the late hour, Council neglected to forward the current proposal and all comments from the public to the County.  

Public meeting re Storrington condo proposal

At the County’s request, Council held a public meeting for input concerning Shield Shores, a waterfront condominium proposal by Barry Campbell. This would be for 18 residents on an 82-acre property lying between Wellington Street and Dog Lake, just outside Battersea. The plan’s common elements include a private park, trail access to the park, two water access points and interior roads.

Planner Mills’ notes point to one lot contained within the area that is listed as “to be retained” yet is not described anywhere in the application. Only six lots have waterfront: all others would share two small water access points, one of which Mills feared could encourage too much boating activity in a constricted water-space, even though neither of these access points is intended to include docks or boat launches. Three of the waterfront lots would have good views but are situated high on sheer cliffs, with no apparent means of access to the lake.

Hydro transmission line easement crosses the property, but seems not to interfere with the proposed development. Malroz is currently peer-reviewing the Hydrogeological and Terrain analysis reports, so their review is not yet available. The Cataraqui Regional Conservation Authority has made 27 recommendations, and suggests that Council defer any decision until all their recommendations and concerns are addressed. A current right of way access to an existing waterfront property crosses two of the proposed lots, and cannot be closed unless the owner of the existing lot gives permission. (She has some concerns about the alternate access offered by the developer.)

Speaking on behalf of the property owner, Mike Keene of Fotennn agreed that the property labelled as retained would have to be brought into the plan in some way, and said they planned to do some revisions to the proposal once all the commenting reports were in.

Mills’ recommendations were as usual: that Council receive the comments and attachments of the planning report, defer any decision until comments from the public are reviewed, and forward the planning report and comments from the public to the County.

Four local residents spoke at the public meeting. Jeff Peters had concerns about the negative effect 18 properties with lawns, driveways and septic systems would have on such a shallow lake. Sharon Freeman, who lives across the road, said the property owner had already cleared out a lot of trees and underbrush, thus already destroying the natural habitat for wildlife. Mary Bird, whose property is surrounded by the land under discussion, said that there are far fewer Grey Rat Snakes since the recent clearing of the land. Matt Rennie said that with lots running four deep back from the water, this appeared to amount to “backlot development.” He asked why the pubic meeting was being held before the proposal was complete, and whether there would be another public meeting later.

Fran Willes also asked whether the public meeting was premature, because the submission was incomplete.

Mayor Vandewal said the public meeting was being held now because the County had requested it. He added that a landowner is free to cut all the trees he wishes: the controls on shoreline protection are only in the development agreement, once a proposal is accepted.

The current planner’s report and all comments from the public meeting are to be forwarded to the County.

CAO Orr reminded those present that only those who have commented on a proposal, either at the public meeting or by letter to Council or the County, will be eligible to either call for an OMB review or speak at one.

(As an oversight from the last Council meeting, Council also agreed to forward to the County the planner’s report and all comments from the public meeting concerning the Collins Lake subdivision proposal.)

Timeline for Zoning By-law Amendments re Lakefront Properties

(from April 5 Council meeting)

Planner Mills has recommended changes to the Comprehensive Zoning By-law that would remove section 5.11, which permits lakefront buildings destroyed by fire, flood or other disaster to be reconstructed on the same footprint. This has raised concerns among residents of older cottages and homes, which were built much closer to the water than would currently be permitted.

Councilor Schjerning is concerned that seasonal residents may not even learn about this until too late to ask for reconsideration, and asked why the rush.

Councilor Sleeth asked for an extension to the decision, for seasonal residents are still a big part of the Storrington community.

Councilor Sutherland said he was not sure this needed to be postponed, for the lake associations already were informed.

Councilor Revill thought very few would be affected but the change, and it is important not to permit residents to remove and replace lakeside structures.

Councilor McDougall said very few have been, or will be affected by the by-law change.

Council agreed to proceed with the suggested timeline: April 26, the Committee of the Whole will receive the planner’s report, legal opinions and delegations. If necessary, further delegations will be received May 10, and a final decision will be made at the May 17 council meeting. Lake associations will be informed of this timeline.

There is a concept called “bureaucratic creep”, which describes the tendency of organizations to develop more and more levels of bureaucracy over time.

The number of people doing the actual work of the organization, be they factory workers, front-line social workers or road crews, stays the same or goes down, but the number of people overseeing that work, managing the employees, dealing with work flows, accountability, regulations, liability, the vision of the organization and so on, creeps up and up.

On April 12, South Frontenac received an organizational review from StrategyCorp, a company that spends much of its time dealing with the federal and provincial levels of politics. StrategyCorp found that South Frontenac is a “lean organization” in comparison to similar-sized municipalities.

This, it said, is a good thing, except that it limits the capacity of the township's senior staff and council to think strategically.

The proposed solution to this problem is to create seven new positions. Of those, only one, a fire prevention officer, would work with the public. The other six positions would take the lean out of the South Frontenac bureaucracy pretty quickly. This is no creep; it's a bureaucratic gallop.

Based on staff and council interviews, StrategyCorp found that not only is Wayne Orr, the township's Chief Administrative Officer, over-worked, but that as a whole township staff and council are caught up in dealing with day-to-day issues that inevitably come up, and have no time to look at the big picture and plan for the future needs of the township.

The picture they paint is of an organizational structure that is set up to deal with the kinds of issues that are faced by small rural municipalities such as the other Frontenac townships; however South Frontenac is not that kind of township any more. With a population of 18,000, and the pressure of suburban sprawl from Kingston into its south end, particularly along Perth Road, council and staff are losing control and soon growth will be managing them instead of being managed by them.

So, StrategyCorp proposes that Council create an entire new tier of staff, three directors who would not concern themselves as much with day-to-day operations of the departments they oversee but would be able to think strategically. Where there is now a Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and a number of managers, there would be a CAO, three directors, a clerk, and a number of managers. Since the current managerial staff in South Frontenac (Public Works, Treasury, Planning) now receive close to or over $100,000 per year in salary, their new bosses would need to make more than that.

So this is not a cheap new tier we are talking about.

My first reaction to all this is to provide a bit of free advice to South Frontenac Council (not that they are asking for it). Hire a new clerk to free up the CAO's time, hire a fire prevention officer, and sit on the rest of the report for a while.

The structure that is proposed is pretty much the same as is in place in Frontenac County, and since South Frontenac ratepayers cover most of the county administrative costs, the relationship between the township and the county needs to be addressed first. The most obvious example of this is in the matter of planning, where there is the very real possibility that two departments dedicated to the same functions would end up being in place.

StrategyCorp presented an organizational, not an operational, review. The review calls for the hiring of an economic development and a communications officer. These are not operations that are currently done in South Frontenac, and Council has not considered whether they want them done.

The organizational review took a generic approach. Most municipalities of South Frontenac's size have the kind of structure it proposes. However, even though suburban Kingston is pushing northward, South Frontenac remains a mostly rural municipality and needs to find its own path.

Council might spend some time thinking about where they want the township to go and what kinds of services they should offer residents. Committing to approximately $750,000 per year in salaries and benefits on a new set of managers and directors before making some basic decisions might not be a wise move.

In order to highlight the importance of developing local food infrastructure in the county, organizers of Frontenac County’s Integrated Community Sustainability Planning (ICSP) invited Dan Borowec to speak at their annual breakfast at the Verona Lions Hall on April 7. Borowec is the director of economic development in Northumberland County.

He spoke about Northumberland’s recent forays into supporting local food infrastructure by creating the Ontario Agri-Food Venture Centre (OAFVC), a multi-purpose, not-for-profit, small batch food-processing facility located in Colborne.

The OAFVC was designed with local farmers and foodie entrepreneurs in mind. The facility supports fresh fruit and value-adding opportunities to farmers to increase their farm revenue.

The facility also assists food-processing start-up companies with recipe development, test batching and other forms of research, and also facilitates small batch co-packing. Guests at the breakfast were shown how Northumberland is a prime example of a county that is building local infrastructure in order to provide food producers with the tools to succeed and become economically sustainable.

Also on the agenda was a description of the County of Frontenac's Guide to Sustainability, which outlines the four pillars of sustainability as social, cultural, economic, and environmental.

County CAO Kelly Pender spoke about the County's “Economic Development Charter for the Frontenacs” which aims to focus on activities, like trips and trails, local food and beverage, and recreation/lifestyle. The charter will also consider the demographics and needs of the county’s seniors, families and youth.

County staff will utilize a number of implementation tools to achieve the charter's goals. They will look at infrastructure, grants, business loans, counseling and regional marketing, and measure the county’s progress, with a promise to report back to local communities annually.

The breakfast also included updates by county staff members. Anne Marie Young spoke about the soon-to-be completed K & P Trail. County Planner, Joe Gallivan, spoke about the county's official plan. Janette Amini brought guests up-to-date regarding the county's current focus on accessibility.

After the updates, two Community Partnership Agreement Awards were given out by Betty Hunter, vice chair of the county's Community Development Advisory Committee, and Ron Vandewal, deputy warden/mayor of South Frontenac.

The first was presented to Ross Sutherland and Stephanie Sciberras of South Frontenac Rides, an organization that aims to establish a more bicycle-friendly township.

The second plaque was presented to North Frontenac mayor, Ron Higgins, in recognition of the North Frontenac Dark Sky Preserve. The Township of North Frontenac was the first in all of Canada to achieve Dark Sky Preserve status from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

For more information about the county's sustainability breakfast, visit www.frontenaccounty.ca

Seven new jobs envisioned, mostly at upper management level

An organizational review by Toronto/Ottawa-based consultants, StrategyCorp, noted that South Frontenac spends less than most other comparable municipalities in a number of areas, including: administration, parks/recreation and facilities, fire and police, and planning/development.

However, if the final report they submitted to Council this week is adopted, that might all change.

Among the major recommendations in their report is the creation of an entire new administrative tier, with three new directors to be slotted in between the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and the departmental managers that are currently in place.

The positions of director of corporate services, director of development services, and director of infrastructure services are only three of seven new positions envisioned by the report. The other four are that of township clerk, a fire education officer, a communications officer and an economic development officer.

Because of the “lean management” structure that is currently in place in the township, there is no time available to management staff to look towards the future needs of the township, according to the report.

“Through interviews, all senior management staff noted that close to 100% of their time is devoted to day-to-day operations. This has resulted in an inability to address strategic planning concerns, as management of the urgent can often crowd out management of the important,” the report says.

One of the key insights of the report was that the current Chief Administrative Officer/Clerk, Wayne Orr, spends almost 100% of his time dealing with day-to-day matters.

“A municipalities' CAO should be its chief strategist. With the current weight of CAO and clerk responsibilities, combined with an unwieldy span of control, the CAO simply does not have the capacity to be South Frontenac's chief strategist at present,” said the report.

In order to address this, the report not only recommends creating a stand-alone clerk position to relieve the CAO of half of their responsibilities, it also says that the number of times council meets should change radically. Council currently meets almost every week, on the first and third Tuesdays of the month for a council meeting, and on the second and fourth Tuesdays as a committee of the whole.

Noting that “the frequency of Council and Committee of the Whole meetings is taxing on senior management staff” the report recommends eliminating the committee of the whole meetings entirely and limiting council meetings to one or two per month.

It says that this would allow senior management to work with council “in crafting more strategic agendas and to provide staff with more time to consider, reflect and prepare more robust reports”.

In place of the current structure, council committees would become more of a focal point for decision-making.

The report calls for four new positions to be created within a year or two, and three to follow later on.

One of those is a new clerk, to alleviate pressure on the CAO; two are at the new director level; and one is a fire prevention officer.

The report calls for an immediate re-design of the corporate services department this year, with the creation of a director of corporate services to oversee the work of the treasurer, a newly hired clerk, and the human resources officer.

South Frontenac Council meetings have been dominated, in recent months, with planning matters. At their meeting on April 7, for example, Council heard from over a dozen members of the public on a new subdivision proposal in the Storrington district, in a meeting that eventually ran over three hours.

To deal with planning, the StrategyCorp report calls for the immediate hiring of a director of development services to oversee the work of the planner, chief building official, and recreation supervisor.

“The Planning department is currently not working towards driving a comprehensive, streamlined development process. The department is very transactionally focused and the development flow chart that is currently being developed to guide the development process has been largely led by the CAO,” the report says.

It also identifies that the planning process is bogged down by a lack of clarity in the relationship between the township's planning department and that of Frontenac County.

“Reconciling the role of the Township vis-à-vis the County and setting clear roles for each level of government in the process” would be an immediate task to be undertaken by the new director of development services.

The position of fire prevention officer is proposed partly to improve the level of service, and partly to free up the fire chief to deal with administrative requirements.

While the report says Council needs to consider pay equity issues and recruitment issues if they implement the hiring that it calls for, it does not talk about the budgetary implications of its recommendations.  

Mr. Pender goes to Plevna

County Wardeb Frances Smith, and Frontenac County CAO Kelly Pender, made a presentation to North Frontenac Council on Friday.

Pender said that natural gas and hydro delivery issues, policing costs, economic development, and closing the cell service gap are priorities for the County in 2016.

“Part of our new budget regime is to pass the budget earlier,” Pender said. “It gives us the opportunity to get bids out on projects earlier and gives the municipalities a better chance to figure out how the County works into your budget as well.”

Pender told Council that they've set aside $500,000 for economic development and that he hopes to double that by applying for grants. They hope to hire a community development officer who would be able to work full-time with businesses and residents of the township in growing their businesses or starting new ones.

He also said that part of that money is being spent on re-branding and money is also being invested in developing accommodations in both North and Central Frontenac.

Pender said work is being done close the cell phone service gap and that the two main obstacles are coverage and capacity. The County is working towards 98% coverage in the township and is looking for capacity, the uploading and downloading, to reach a minimum of 5 megabytes per second throughout the area.

Pender also spoke about the County owned Fairmount Home and its challenges. The home is dealing with shorter lengths of stay. He explained that the length of stay used to be 5-10 years but that the length of stay is now about 2 years.

“People are coming to us sicker,” Pender told council. “We're moving towards providing less bingo and more feeding tubes, more wound care, more dementia cases.”

Pender explained that the County's Official Plan was approved by the province in February and that it “should reduce turnaround times for approvals, taking the province out of the official plan changes for North Frontenac.”

Denbigh ambulance base a concern to council

Councilor Wayne Good asked Pender about the County's stance on the Denbigh ambulance base, which is located in neighbouring Lennox and Addington County (L&A)

“The Denbigh ambulance station is a very difficult situation for L&A as well as Frontenac, Renfrew, and Hastings,” Pender explained. “Our stance at this point is that we're willing to work with them. Part of the motion was that we want to sit down and talk about how to make this work.”

The costs per call at the Denbigh station, based on a recent study, are high compared to the other stations in the surrounding areas because they receive fewer calls per year yet still have to pay to staff the station. Also, the station in Denbigh is leased and is in need of repair. The station responds to 133 calls per year, on average, and about 25% of them are in Frontenac County. One of the options being considered by the County of Lennox and Addington is closing the Denbigh station and moving that ambulance down to the Loyalist station in the very southern part of the County.

Councilor Good is concerned that if the Denbigh station is closed then the ambulance serving that surrounding area has to come all the way from Northbrook.

“If that Northbrook ambulance has to go to Renfrew or Bancroft [for a call] it could be 4-6 hours before there'd be an ambulance available, depending on the part of the township,” Good said.

Lennox and Addington have reached out to the surrounding counties, Renfrew, Hastings, and Frontenac, for supplemental funding but so far the proposal has been rejected.

Isaacs shines a little light on solar

Paul Isaacs, a representative from the so-called Democratic Municipality of Denbigh, presented a paper to Council on the repercussions and issues of continuing to use oil and spoke on the benefits of using solar in North Frontenac.

“A strong, resilient rural community is one that doesn't depend on the grid,” Isaacs told Council. “It's one that has its own infrastructure locally for generating it's own energy. That's your future. It's right in line with your plan.

“I think you can have a big impact with your cottagers,” Isaacs explained. “They are paying delivery charges all winter long even though they aren't here. They can use the solar in the summer time and get off the hydro and stop paying those costs all winter long.”

“You could invest in some solar products and sell them back into the municipality at cost and that would give people here a local place where they wouldn't have to worry about where to source these things from. You could designate someone on staff to become more knowledgeable about it so when you get someone with a question, as a municipality, you could answer it.”

“I don't think that the municipality necessarily has a place in providing people with what's available commercially,” Councilor John Inglis said. “If you're interested in solar just Google it.”

Councillor Hermer was concerned about the maintenance and upkeep of the expensive batteries that are needed for the backup system and that cottagers would have a difficult time keeping the system functioning.

“The idea with solar is it won't maintain a twentieth-century lifestyle,” Isaacs responded. “Solar will not provide you with the ability to turn on your hair dryer at 3am. It comes and it goes. You have to flow with that. That's another reason why the cottagers are important. The cottagers are willing to have a beer on the weekend and not worry if the laundry gets done or not.”

“If you adapt your lifestyle to what solar can give you it will give you quite a lot,” Isaacs said.

Mississagagon Lake considered “at capacity”

Victor Castro, a senior aquatic scientist from the Ministry of Environment, did lakeshore capacity studies on Mississagagon Lake and Blue Lake to determine phosphorous levels. Based on the completed study, Castro says that Mississagagon Lake cannot take any additional phosphorous loading and that any decisions about increasing infrastructure around the lake should not increase the existing phosphorous levels.

The report found that Blue Lake has higher than ideal phosphorous levels and that “careful consideration should be given to further development.”

Phosphorous is a limiting nutrient that controls the growth of aquatic plants and algae. When phosphorous is high it may promote excess algae and aquatic plant growth. A main source of phosphorous in inland lakes comes from septic systems. Other additional sources are storm water runoff, shoreline clearing, agricultural runoff, and fertilizers.

North Frontenac Telephone Company sets sights on improving service in Mountain Grove

In a delegation to council, Dave Smith and Grant Roughley of the North Frontenac Telephone Company approached council for approval to install an underground high-speed fiber optic cable network in Mountain Grove.

The company plans to install the cable underground within the township's road allowance where the topography allows. Where the topography does not allow, i.e. where there are culverts, bridges and other obstacles, the company plans to install poles to link to the proposed underground network. The goal, Smith said is to provide up to 150 subscribers in and around Mountain Grove with reliable high-speed internet service, cable TV and residential home phone services.

Following an aerial study done of the area, many of the existing hydro poles were deemed not able to hold the cable due both to cost and/or Hydro One regulations.

Roughley said that though this project is not a highly profitable one for the company, it will bring services to areas of the township where currently they do not exist. The plan is to bury the cable in a pipe at least 24 inches, preferably 30 inches, below ground.

Councilor Jamie Riddell asked about the legal implications to the township if repairs need to be done to the roads. Cathy MacMunn said that staff had yet to hear back from their legal advisers.

Dave Smith responded that the NFTC, being governed by CRTC standards, would be responsible for maintaining the network.

Council Victor Heese asked about the option of going wireless and installing a tower instead of buried cable. Smith responded that he and his team have costed out those options as well. Heese also wondered about extending the cable down smaller roads. Roughley said that those residents could possibly pay for the construction costs and that that is something that might be looked into in the future. Smith stated that due to the rocky topography in the village of Mountain Grove, poles might have to be installed there.

Council accepted the request for information.

Frontenac County update

In a delegation to council, Frontenac County CAO Kelly Pender was joined by the County's deputy warden, Ron Vandewal. Pender updated council about a number of issues that involve the township. County projects include creating a health hub, which aims to give rural communities more say in how health services are delivered, and achieving more rural community involvement by establishing a rural liaison committee with the Limestone District School Board.

Pender said that the Township of Central Frontenac meets the county’s focus for developing trails, accommodation and food and recreation lifestyles and he noted that $500,000 has been set aside by the county for economic development activities in those areas over the next three years.

Public works and waste site report

Public works manager, John Badgley, reported that he has been inundated with calls about the poor quality of the roads as a result of the spring weather and that his crew have been working extra hours to get ahead. Crews have been busy sanding, patching, salting, repairing signs, brushing, replacing culverts as well as dealing with beaver issues.

Badgley said that the arrival of the township's new roll truck, which will be hauling the township's own waste bins, will result in a 50% savings over former costs.

Further, Badgley reported that all road repairs have been completed since the flooding on April 1.

Tax Sales Report

Staff treasurer Michael McGovern is hoping to see the sale of a number of properties on the Silver Lake Estates that have been moved up to May 12.

Infrastructure Funding made official

Council passed a motion to enter into a contribution agreement for funding under the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program to expand the new Mountain Grove Community Centre to include a library facility, with the funding approved at $110,000.

Bicycle enthusiasts from across the Township of South Frontenac put their heads together to brainstorm what changes might be made in the township to create a more bicycle-friendly environment. The efforts began at two meetings, both of which took place on March 30 and included representatives from KLF&A Public Health, the Township of South Frontenac and South Frontenac Rides. The latter is a committee of South Frontenac Council made up almost entirely of community members interested in improving active transportation in South Frontenac.

At their first meeting on Wednesday, the three groups met privately to discuss the possibilities of coming up with a work plan to improve cycling infrastructure in the township. Guests spoke about what is currently in place in the community to support cycling and also the gaps that exist and how to best address them.

The groups developed five and two-year plans and also an immediate one-year action plan. A report is currently being created and will be presented to council in the near future. The plan will map out the suggestions identified by the stakeholders and gleaned through the lens of the Bicycle-Friendly Ontario program and will include some of the high-impact actions that the group and township can take, especially those that will have an immediate, visible impact.

The second part of the day included a public meeting where representatives from the three groups along with interested members of the community met for a presentation by Justin Jones, who is the manager of Bicycle-Friendly Ontario and is also with Share The Road Cycling Coalition.

Jones began by outlining his personal background, first as a car-dependent teenager in his hometown of Carstairs, Alberta and later, after moving to Toronto, as a cycling enthusiast. Jones cited numerous statistics in the presentation, like the fact that 54% of 18 to 34-year-olds would consider moving to another community that had better transportation options and further, that 66% of this age group said that “access to high quality transportation options” is one of their top three priorities when considering a new community to settle in.

Jones also noted that children these days are far less likely to walk or bike to school. Today only 24% (and dropping) of children do, whereas 58% of people over 30 years old used to walk or bike to school when they were children. He said, “It is very important to start reversing these trends.”

Jones went on to point to a pilot project done in the US where $25 million was invested in active transportation infrastructure (i.e. bicycle paths, trails etc.) in each of four various-sized communities. Results showed that the number of people walking went up by 22%; cyclists increased by 46-115%; and the number of collisions decreased by 18-55%.

Jones also spoke of the City of Thunder Bay, which has been increasing its active transportation infrastructure since 2010. Statistics have shown that cycling increased by 147%, and that the number of collisions involving cyclists decreased by 88%.

Jones stressed that bicycle-friendly communities involve much more than just lines on the road, but also the engineering of bike lanes, trails and bicycle parking, education, encouragements and incentives, and by-law enforcement. He spoke of the small town of Bemidji, Minnesota, which in 2012 earned bronze medal status as a bike-friendly community. The town engaged cyclists through a number of incentives and activities, which in time encouraged residents to support new cycling infrastructure policies.

In Ontario, Jones cited the town of Mississippi Mills, with a population of 12,000, which has instituted numerous cycling incentives including a small bike share program; a “Tweed Ride” where cyclists dress up in their finest for an afternoon ride; a women’s-only mountain biking event and more. Council there has passed an active transportation plan for 2016 that should see more incentives undertaken to promote cycling.

Jones also used Verona as an example. Most residents live within a 3 km radius of the town services and improved infrastructure there could see more cyclists taking to the roads to commute to their work places, schools and local services.

Following Jones’ presentation, guests were split into groups to determine what plans can be taken and put into place to increase cycling. Topics included short-term projects leading to longer-term investments; what the ideal infrastructure in South Frontenac might look like; what activities can encourage residents and children to ride; and what barriers are preventing them from doing so.

Mayor Ron Vandewal, who attended both meetings, said that he looks forward to seeing what happens with all the information gleaned from the two meetings. “There was lot of good information that came forward at both meetings and it will be interesting to see what we can do moving forward. I think that if we want taxpayers to buy into this, we also need to include other modes of active transportation like walking trails, sidewalks and more.”

Ontario Parks nixes winter operation of Bon Echo Park

It took the better part of a year for the Director of Ontario Parks, Bruce Bateman, to respond to a report from Addington Highlands that was focused on the opportunities that would come from Bon Echo Park opening for winter recreation opportunities.

When the response came last week, it was as short as it was long in coming.

“While we are very interested in the results of the report, the opportunity for a winter operation at Bon Echo is not being considered at this time,” Bateman wrote.

He went on to say that the park has been “continuing the expansion of the roofed accommodations and supporting park infrastructure to support shoulder season visitation.”

Bon Echo Park is scheduled to be open for camping between May 13 and October 16 this year. When contacted, Park Superintendent Clark Richards clarified that by shoulder seasons Bateman was referring to the 2nd Friday in May until mid-June, and after the Labour Day weekend until the Park closes on the Sunday after Thanksgiving Monday.

“While Ontario Parks is not considering extending the operating dates for Bon Echo Provincial Park at this time, if successful with increasing visitation within the current operating season and if there is customer demand, we are not opposed to expanding future recreational opportunities,” Richards said in an email.

While waiting for the response from Ontario Parks, Reeve Hogg brought up the idea of winter opening to the minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport at a municipal conference in February.

“The minister thought that Bon Echo was open in the winter,” said Hogg.

Canada 150 fund

The township received notification from MP Mike Bossio that applications are being accepted for grants under the Canada 150 fund until June. According to Bossio, “The Canada 150 fund can support projects across a broad range of subject areas, including but not limited to: arts and culture, environmental stewardship and connecting with nature; sport, health and active living; history and heritage; science and technology; and civic engagement.”

Councilor Tony Fritsch offered to look into possible projects and consult with the public before coming back to Council.

Councilor Kirby Thompson wondered if everyone on Council would have to grow a beard and wear a top hat during the centennial year to mark the occasion, to which Deputy Reeve Helen Yanch said, “I am not going to do that.”

Winter, spring, winter again and beaver dams

Roads Superintendent Royce Rosenblath said crews dealt with issues after all the rain late last week, and were getting ready to shovel snow again this week, if necessary.

He also said he has been in contact with the Ministry of Transportation over the potential impact on Hwy. 41 should a beaver dam, located near the highway at Mazinaw Hill, be taken out by township crews before it eventually gives way and releases a large amount of water, which it is now holding back.

“We have not heard from the MNRF [Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry] and the dam is on Crown land under their control”, said Rosenblath, “so there is nothing we can do. Maybe the MTO will be able to pressure the MNRF on this.”

A cottage is located on low land between the highway and Mazinaw Lake and the township is concerned about damage if the dam, which is 15 feet high, should give way.

Requests approved

A request from the Flinton Rec. Club to sell advertising on the boards of the Flinton rink to help cover operating costs of the rink was accepted. A request from the Mazinaw Powerline Snowmobile Club to store a new groomer in unused township garage space was also accepted.