Planning Department in the offing?

When Frontenac County completed its Sustainability Plan two years ago a decision was made to hire a manager to oversee projects that county council approves as the plan moves forward.

Under the heading of “Sustainability”, the county is currently working on projects as varied as community improvement plans (with a focus on business retention and expansion), a Green Energy Task Force (which encourages small-scale investments in solar, and perhaps wind and hydro power) and a County Roads strategy (which deals with the funding and maintenance of major roads in the county).

The individual who was hired to facilitate all these projects, Joe Gallivan, comes from a background in land use planning, which has the more narrow focus of looking at plans of subdivision approvals, property setbacks, zoning bylaws and the like.

Hiring a municipal planner was no accident for the county, because it does have a role in approving plans of subdivision and plans of condominium in Frontenac County, although all other planning matters are handled by the individual townships.

Last year the county used grant money from the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation to hire Peter Young as an intern to work on a number of projects, particularly the Community Improvement Plan for Verona.

When Joe Gallivan came to council last week to ask that the intern position, which is running out, be transitioned into a one-year contract position for $23.07/hr., he made reference not only to sustainability projects, but to land use planning as well.

“The number of subdivision applications has risen dramatically in the last two years,” Gallivan said, “and I have been available to assist Central Frontenac in their own work on the Bridgen's Island approval on Eagle Lake.”

“So, could you provide more affordable planning for the townships with this hiring?” asked Frontenac Island's Mayor Dennis Doyle.

“I would be pleased to do so. Without this position in place it would be more challenging for me to do that,” said Gallivan.

“I think there is a tremendous need to get planning right, and to get through all that our Sustainability plan calls for,” said Central Frontenac Mayor Janet Gutowski.

Warden Davison, speaking on behalf of South Frontenac Township, wondered how the billing for Gallivan's time as a land use planner is being handled.

“That has not been worked out,” Gallivan said.

“It will have to be if this is the direction we are going,” said Davison, “because in South Frontenac we have our own planning department and we don't want our county taxes paying to cut planning costs in the other townships.”

“The idea of a County Planner providing services is an argument for another day,” said North Frontenac Mayor Bud Clayton. “We in North Frontenac are not looking at using a county planner. But I can support this position, for one year.”

The one-year contract position was approved, and will be included in the 2011 county budget.

North and Central Frontenac and Frontenac Islands all currently use the services of Tunnock Consulting in addition to having their own planning co-ordinators on staff. Most of the costs for planning approvals are passed on to the developer, although the townships pay consulting fees in the development of their Official Plans and Comprehensive Zoning Bylaws.

Preliminary county budget – costs up for Fairmount Home, Land ambulance service

The first pieces of the draft budget were presented to county council last week. The proposed budget for the county-owned, 128-bed Fairmount Home Long Term Care Facility is over $10.7 million for 2011, up from $10 million in 2010, a 2.6% increase (all numbers rounded).

A number of funders contribute to the Fairmount Home budget, including the Province of Ontario ($4.9 million), patient fees ($3 million), and the City of Kingston ($1.7 million). The projected increase in the share paid by county ratepayers in 2011 is up $60,000, to $794,000, an increase of 8.2%. The increase will be included in the 2011 county levy to ratepayers if the budget is not altered.

The largest increase in the home’s overall budget is a $524,000 line item for depreciation, which is new this year. County ratepayers are being asked to cover about $41,000 of those depreciation costs. Other cost increases include a 12% increase in laundry and linen services, and a 17% increase in general and administrative costs.

The budget for land ambulance services is also up, partly because of an increased share for county ratepayers relative to the City of Kingston because the population in the county is growing relative to the city.

The overall municipal levy for the ambulance is up by $544,000 in the draft budget, an increase of 7.8%, but the proposed Frontenac County levy is up by $170,000 to $1.48 million, an increase of 13%.

While the Province of Ontario pays 50% of operating costs, capital costs for the ambulance service are covered by the municipal partners, and the 2011 budget includes increases in vehicle and equipment replacement reserve funds of about 10%.

Committees and mileage/kilometrage – Council approved the establishment of the following committees: Green Energy Task Group, Sustainability Advisory, and 150th anniversary planning. These committees include members of the public as well as members of county council. After considerable debate, it was decided that members of the public will not receive remuneration for attending meetings, but they will receive 'mileage' at the county rate of 48 cents per kilometre.

LHINS visit – Paul Huras (Chief Executive Officer) and Georgina Thompson (Board Chair) of the Southeast Ontario Local Health Integration Network made a short presentation about changes that are being contemplated in the service delivery model of the seven hospitals in the region. Thompson said that duplication of service would be addressed in this process.

“There are five hospitals doing orthopaedic surgery in our LHIN, for example,” said Thompson. “Perhaps there should only be four or three. These are the kinds of things we are looking at.”

Public consultations will be undertaken by the LHIN, using social networking as a major focus, and public meetings are being planned as well.

Central Frontenac Mayor Janet Gutowski brought up the issue of transportation from locations in Frontenac County as service may be offered further away from residents than they are now.

“We are just now looking at the transportation piece,” said Huras. “We recognize that transportation is a huge issue.”

Huras and Thompson said there would be more coming out on these planned changes in the coming months.

Another tough year ahead for Central Frontenac budget

It may not be any easie for Central Frontenac Councl to avoid a tax increase this year than it was last year, when the increase in the amount of money that was levied to ratepayers for township delivered services increased by $532,000, almost 11%, and the overall increase in municipal taxes, including County and Education taxes, was 9%.

This year, as the newly elected Council prepares for a series of budget meetings, they received some preliminary information from Chief Administrative Officer John Duchene that indicates budgeting will be a difficult chore again in 2011.

A Provincial grant to the township that offsets policing and other costs, which is called the Ontario Municipal Partnership fund, is down by $128,000 this year. At the same time the townships insurance premiums are up by $53,240 over last year, and pension and benefit costs, as wll as salary adjustments and he cost of living allowance will all cause increases in the payroll costs the township must cover.

Duchene also reported that the townships reserve funds are down, partly as the result of surprise costs (such as the Echo Lake Road washout) but also because the funds were used last year to keep the overall tax increase under 10%.

“Our current level of reserves is low and staff believes that a start to replenishing reserves,” Duchene wrote.

On he bright side, Duchene told Council that in preliminary talks with the Frontenac County treasurer Marion Vanbruinessen.

“She raised the possibility of 'grants' from the County to the townships, recognizing the uploading that has taken place of county costs the province which creates budget room for the county,” he said

the the posst to the townships of some of the savings the County has realized from the uploading of costs of the Ontario Disability Support Program may be in the cards.

Council received Duchene's report and set budget meetings for February 8 (to discuss the council, corporate services, information technology, and recreation budgets), February 22nd (public works – roads and waste management), March 8 (Fire, Planning and buiding, economic development) and March 22 (Final review).

All of the meetings will take place on Tuesdays and will replace Committee of the Whole meetings. They will start at 3:00.

Notes – in a debate about the proposed procedural bylaw for Council, a question was raised about how a new five minute limit on speeches by members of Council will be enforced. Councillor Jeff Matson said the township could do what they do at the annual good roads conference in Toronto.

“They have a big lighting standard. When it is green you can talk, the the yellow comes as a warning, and when the red light comes on you have to stop talking,” said Matson.

“Great idea. It would be the first stop light in the township,” said Mayor Gutowski.

Emergency response plan – Fire Chief Mark MacDonald presented an updated emergency response plan the he has been working on.

“The new plan incorporates some changes because of new legislation,” said MacDonald.

He also said that his department is “trying to build relationship with Frontenac County to talk about emergency response. We are trying to see if we can network together, and the County is trying to find ways they can help us. They may have access to different funding sources as well.”

Municipal officials receive information about ‘land package’ at closed door meeting

On Thursday, October 25, a closed door meeting was held with municipal officials from Frontenac County and Addington Highlands Township at the Sharbot Lake Legion about a potential lands package as part of land claim negotiations. A second meeting was scheduled for Monday, October 29. The meetings were held as part of the consultation process surrounding the pending Agreement in Principle for the Algonquin Land Claim in Ontario.

Attempts to talk to any of the federal or provincial, or Algonquin officials who participated in those meetings concerning the current state of negotiations yielded the following e-mail response from Flavio Mussio of the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs in Toronto: “There will not be anyone available to speak to the media as they are not public meetings.”

One of the goals of the meeting, according to Mussio, was to receive information from municipal politicians and staff about any local plans for road expansion that might impact on the lands under discussion for transfer as part of the land claim.

Previous information provided by the Ontario chief negotiator, Brian Crane, established that all land transfers that will flow from the claim will be on a fee simple basis, meaning the Algonquin jurisdiction over their lands will the same as any other landowner in Ontario.

Mussio’s email message went on to discuss future opportunities for public input into the land claim process.

“Once these negotiations have progressed, more information about any potential lands package will be made public. The public engagement process is a consistent part of our policy in settling land claims … Ontario’s consultations with stakeholders and the public will expand and continue as the negotiations proceed. Public information will continue to be available through negotiators’ updates; material on the Ontario website; through the Ontario Information Centre on the Algonquin Land Claim in Pembroke; and through other means. The negotiating parties also intend to hold regional public information forums to discuss the proposed content of a draft agreement-in-principle with members of the public.”

Negotiators from all sides have answered media inquiries about the claim on a regular basis, but there have been no meetings for the general public thus far in the process, which got underway in 1992.

Seniors' housing report draws mixed reactions at county

At one point during a comprehensive report on the prospects for a county-sponsored seniors' housing pilot project in Frontenac County, Frontenac Islands Mayor Dennis Doyle presaged the ultimate response from Council, when he interrupted the presentation briefly, saying, “Excuse me, but how much longer is this going to go on?”

When the presentation did end, Doyle was quick to condemn it for being focused on one part of the County. “We have a Highway 38-centric proposal in front of us. I'd suggest we've got a project here that South and Central Frontenac should get together and decide what to do with,” he said.

The final report by SHS and ReFact Consulting is the culmination of a 6-month-long study whose goal was to analyse the housing needs of seniors in Frontenac County, and to propose and provide costing for a pilot project that the county could bring to fruition.

Social housing in Frontenac County is administered by the housing department of the City of Kingston according to a local services realignment agreement that was reached at the time of municipal amalgamation in 1998.

A portion of municipal taxes are paid by the county to the city, and the city provides funding support to not-for profit corporations in the county, such as the Loughborough Housing Corporation (Sydenham) and North Frontenac Not-for-Profit Housing (Sharbot Lake).

This latest study was intended to add to the stock of lower cost housing for seniors in Frontenac County. Recent census information has again confirmed that the population of Frontenac County is ageing faster than the provincial average (the senior population was 15.6% in 2006 and is projected to reach 27.1% by 2036)

There is also a relatively large number of poorer seniors in Frontenac County. Fifteen percent of county residents who were 75 years or older and 10% of seniors between 65 and 75 had an income of under $18,200 per year.

These factors, and others related to ageing, have rendered the stock of housing in the county insufficient for the needs of many of the current and future seniors in the county.

When they were asked as part of the study, a large proportion of seniors expressed a desire to remain living in rural locations as they aged, rather than moving to an urban centre.

Before discussing models for a pilot project, the study concluded that for more remote areas of the county, such as North Frontenac and parts of Central and South Frontenac, “a bricks and mortar solution may not be sustainable at this time” and proposed instead that the county advocate for an expansion to homecare services and to home adaptation and retrofit programs “to assist in addressing the needs of seniors to age in place in more remote areas of the county.”

In presenting the study, the consultants acknowledged that ageing at home supports are provided by the Southeast Local Health Integration Network (LHINS) and the county can do no more than lobby for more services.

The study then provided costing information for three different kinds of housing pilot projects, identifying three communities as likely locations for such projects: Sydenham, Verona and Sharbot Lake.

Model One is a new 20-unit single-storey affordable rent project. The estimated up front costing for this proposal is $3.8 million.

Model Two is a 20-unit conversion or renovation of an existing building (i.e. a surplus school). The estimated cost for this model is $2.2 million.

Model Three is for an assisted living facility that provides independent living but also meals and housekeeping services for residents. For an 8-unit facility the estimated cost for construction is $1.4 million

The study proposes that the county form a task force or committee to explore what kind of project the county would like to bring to fruition, and what role the county would like to play.

The county role could range from providing waivers/reductions in building fees and development charges, reducing taxes, contributing municipal land or surplus buildings, providing low interest loans, or direct capital funding.

While Frontenac Islands Mayor Doyle was clearly unhappy with the report, saying it excluded Frontenac Islands and North Frontenac, Warden Gutowski called the study “extensive and complete” and said it “provided something for everyone”.

The report was received for information and a decision on future steps may come as part of budget deliberations for the 2013 county budget, which begin this month. 

Official Plan Amendment

Council passed a by-law to amend the township’s Official Plan: along with some ‘housekeeping’ details, there were two major additions. One strengthens environmental policies, in order to minimize environmental and visual lake impacts caused by the increasing development of shorelines, and the conversion of small seasonal use cottages into larger year-round residences. Another section outlines policies for plans of condominium, defined as ‘vacant land with common elements’ i.e. a development with individual residential lots, which share a communally maintained private lane.

This amendment will now go to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing for final approval.

Municipal Infrastructure Investment Funding

Council agreed to submit an ‘Expression of Interest’ as a first step in applying for a portion of a recently announced Provincial grant program intended to be used for roads, bridges, and wastewater infrastructure in small municipalities. Treasurer Louise Fragnito estimates the first stage of funding should be a minimum of $23,000, which would be used to develop an asset management plan and purchase related software. Such a data base will provide the ability to forecast infrastructure needs, and plan for long-range management and funding.

Bedford Resident Honoured

Councillor Tinlin announced that Susan O’Brien McTaggart of Bedford has been selected to receive a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal.

Frontenac Arena Debt

Councillor Vandewal noted that as 2012 is the last year for Frontenac Arena’s fundraising for its $600,000 upgrading, any outstanding debt (estimated to be somewhere between $100,000 and $200,000,) will have to be factored into the township’s 2013 budget.

2011 Audit

Auditor Vicki Leaky, of KPMG reported on her review of the township’s 2011 financial statements. She noted that everything seemed to be in good order.

Editorial by Jeff Green

There was a time when Denbigh was a pilot project for volunteer ambulance service in Eastern Ontario and the province as a whole.

The distances were as great then as they are now, and it was recognised by the Ministry of Health that just like fire service, people in rural regions need an ambulance to arrive within a reasonable amount of time.

So, Ministry of Health officials trained community volunteers in a variety of First Response techniques, and then gave them a vehicle and off they went.

There have been many changes over the last 30 years in ambulance service.

Over time, the volunteers who ran the volunteer services became more like lower paid professional paramedics and the volunteer model fell into disrepute. The Denbigh service is now on the verge of being operated just like all the other professional services in Lennox and Addington County.

Another major change took place when land ambulance service became a municipal operation, after having previously been a core provincial service. The province still pays almost half the costs, but municipalities run the service and it is a major budget item in rural municipal budgets.

Just as it would not be viable for the model of urban fire departments to be imposed on rural reality - the cost would be just too high - running rural and urban ambulance service on the identical financial model is proving to be too expensive.

The Denbigh service that originally cost $12,000 per year to the Ontario Ministry of Health, now is projected to cost over $1 million per year, half of that coming from municipal taxes in Lennox and Addington.

It was all that Addinton Highlands politicians could do to salvage a half-time service in Denbigh when a county staff-driven initiative to move the resources from rural Denbigh to suburban Loyalist County took hold at L&A County Council earlier this year.

It is hard to imagine that the original Denbigh service, which involved a massive volunteer commitment, could have persisted in its original form into the modern world of paramedic services. Yet, it is also proving to be impossible to imagine a viable ambulance service providing timely service throughout a vast rural province on the population-based, municipally-funded model that is now in place in Ontario.

The current fiscal arrangement does not foster co-operation among municipal partners, as was evidenced when a plan to turn Denbigh into a new model for the future, that of a regional service serving four counties, failed to receive support from two of those counties.

Appeals to the province to re-engage in rural ambulance service have so far fallen on deaf ears.

So, in the end, a rural community that took a giant leap forward in 1982 by setting up a 24-hour ambulance, has now faced a steep fall backward.

There is a solution.

The Local Health Integration Network is responsible for ambulance service. Only a provincial body can step in and pull the county ambulance services together, and find some provincial dollars to augment municipal commitments to rural service.

Somebody, and it likely has to be somebody from the South East LHIN's office in Belleville or the Ministry of Health itself, needs to call a meeting.

At the 30th Anniversary celebration of the founding of the Denbigh service, there were a number of retired bureaucrats on hand, They were proud of the work they did, and the connections they forged with the local population, when the Denbigh service was set up.

If the bureaucrats at the new-look LHINs would like to be more than a layer of bureaucracy concerned with saving money and ensuring that everyone they fund has filled out the correct forms, they need to jump into this major public health issue, get their hands dirty, and make a difference.