Solar Proposal for Addington Highlands

Rob Hitchcock, a representative from Abundant Solar Energy, made a presentation to Council requesting a support resolution for two small separate solar projects his company is hoping to build in the area.

Council passed a resolution to support one of the projects, which is proposed along Highway 7, but are waiting on more information for the second project before they would approve it.

The second project that is in question is on three to five acres and Abundant would be leasing the land.

As required by the Independent Electricity Systems Operators (IESO), the corporation that awards the solar contracts, if a site is within eyes' view of a road or building, the contractor is obligated to make sure it is landscaped accordingly, to hide the panels from the eye.

“I certainly do have concerns about it,” said Councilor Bill Cox, whose house is located across the road from the proposed site. “You put up a six-foot fence and I have a two-storey house. Before I could support something like that I'd certainly like to know more about how it's going to be landscaped.”

Hitchcock told Council that he would provide them with a digital mockup of how the landscaping could look at the proposed site for their next meeting.

Township's assets relatively new

Petr Sizow and Alison Fath-York, representatives from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH), made a presentation to Council on Wednesday regarding Addington Highlands and their Asset Management Plan (AMP).

Fath-York explained that the province takes data collected from municipalities and uses it to populate their Financial Information Return (FIR), a data website. This information is available to councils and the public and she said that Addington Highlands Council should be aware that it exists.

“Our ministry is in the process of modernizing the website,” she said about the FIR site, which includes financial data from 2000-2015. The data is used by the province to observe trends across all of the municipalities.

Even though Addington Highlands' infrastructure is relatively new overall, Sizow and Fath-York both spoke about the importance of annually investing in infrastructure to balance spending and to avoid having to drastically raise taxes.

“You are stewards of your infrastructure,” Fath-York said. “You have a responsibility to that infrastructure.”

Of Addington Highlands' tangible capital assets, 71.5% is in their roads and 13.7% is in their fire halls and emergency structures.

SF Council rejects  zoning bylaw for project, Frontenac County suports plan of subdivision

(Note - The first two paragraphs of this article have been updated from the one printed in the Frontenac News on August 25 to reflect the decision taken by Frontenac County Council on August 24)

South Frontenac Council met on Tuesday (august 24) and voted down a proposed bylaw to change the zoning for a parcel of land in the hamlet of Hartington from R-U-46 (Special Rural Zone) to R-U 29 (Special Residential Zone). At a meeting of Frontenac County Council the following morning (august 25),  the council, voted to support the plan of subdivision that is tied to the zoning byklaw amendment.

These two bylaws, which were recommendations bythe planning departments of both South Frontenac and Frontenac County, were to be forwarded to a  pre-hearing of the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) on September 6th at the South Frontenac Township Office. The township and county are now sending diverging messages to the OMB, which is the approval authority for both the zoning and plan of subdivision applications. 

The development is a smaller version of a larger proposal that was made by Terry Grant, who initially applied in July, 2015 for zoning and planning approval to build 47 new houses in and adjacent to the hamlet.

Opposition was fierce from the start, centering on the capacity of the local aquifer to support 47 additional wells.

The proposal was later whittled down to 13 lots, all within the designated hamlet, dovetailing with the clearly stated intentions of the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) which underpins all planning decisions in the Province of Ontario.

A series of sometimes contradictory hydro-geological and planning reports have been prepared at the behest of Terry Grant, the local opposition group, the township and the county.

These reports took time to prepare, delaying the process until, on February 1st, Terry Grant launched an appeal of the process with the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), the final authority for all planning decisions in the Province, on the grounds that the process had taken longer than six months, which contravenes provincial regulations.

As the first stage of the appeal looms, South Frontenac and Frontenac County Council's have both been working towards having their own decisions in place to present to the appeal board for consideration.

Another complicating issue in the process is the existence of contaminated soil from a former gas station, just across Road 38 from the proposed subdivision.

In the spring of this year, members of South Frontenac Council were faced with a set of conflicting planning opinions. Reviews of all the hydro-geological studies, test well results, impact assessments by the Quinte Region Conservation Authority, etc. led the peer reviewer hired by Frontenac County to conclude the proposal was acceptable, and reviewers for the opposition to conclude it was not.

They commissioned a literature review, by Hydrogeologist Christopher Rancourt from exp services, a large consulting firm with an office in Kingston.

Rancourt reviews 20 documents as well as the PPS and came to the conclusion that the 13 unit subdivision was appropriate, with the stipulation that each of the 13 wells that are drilled “be evaluated by a certified hydro-geologist.” He added that “a detailed scope of testing requirements be established that is acceptable to the planning authority in advance of approval.”

Later, he made the further recommendation that “given the hydrogeological sensitivity associated with the site/hamlet the township should consider restricting agricultural use in close proximity to the site/hamlet.”

Opponents of the project point to two documents, a letter by the geologist Wilf Ruland, dated July 28th/2016, concerning the impacts on groundwater from the hydrocarbons that were found at the site of the foremr gas station. In addition to detailed recommendations about how the township and the Ministry of the Enviroment should deal with the potential spread of contamination in the immediate area, he said that no new deveopment should be contemplated until all of the other concerns he expressed are dealt with.

“The prudent thing to do would be to place a temporary moratorium on development in Hartington” until the remediation of the contaminated site is complete, he said.

The second document is a letter of opinion by the planning consultant they hired, Mark Dorfman from Waterloo.

“In my opinion, this planning application is premature and should not be approved. The uncertainty of the evidence supporting the application are sufficient to conclude that as a matter of precaution, the municiapity and the board should not approve this application,” he wrote.

In his own report, South Frontenac Township Planner recommended that council approve the zoning change, subject to 28 conditions.

Kent Labbett was very concerned about Central Frontenac's purchase of the former public school's in Sharbot Lake and Parham.

So, he sent a letter to Mayor Frances Smith and the township Council on February 8th, asking a number of questions about the purchases.

He questioned what the townships “long term goal” was for the two properties. He also asked whether there was an information package available from the Limestone Board about the properties, if it was available to the township and if Mayor Smith has read the package before council decided to make the purchase.

He also wnated to know if township[ staff had inspected the buildings before the purchase, and if the township considered and budgeted for tearing the buildings down before making the purchases.

He told the News that after not hearing back from the Mayor by late February he called Cathy MacMunn, Chief Administrative Officer for Central Frontenac.

He said that Macmunn began to offer some explanations but he cut her off, saying “I need to hear this from the Mayor.”

He did not hear back, and based on a search of the online agendas to council meetings between March and July, the letter does not appear in the package of correspondance.

In mid-July, Labbett pressed the issue again, and on July 19th, he did hear back from Frances Smith via email.

She provided a point by point response to his questions.

The long term goal for the properties “is to develop the Sharbot Lake property into a senior's residence; for the Hinchinbrooke property there were a few ideas such as : possible site of a new township garage; use as a recreation centre; a possible business project such as a craft brewery operation.”

As far as an information package about the building is concerned, she wrote that “apparently there was one on file. We did not see it or discuss it with staff prior to purchasing. We were aware the buildings were not in A-one shape because that is why the school board closed them. We did not know how bad Sharbot Lake was until we did a walk through and definitely it is not able to be renovated.”

She also wrote that the appraisal of the properties was higher than the price the township paid for them. For example, she noted that the initial asking price for Hinchinbrooke school was $220,000 and the township paid $100,000 for the property.

She said that the township “did not budget for the tear down nor have we expended any money on tear down, however, we are setting aside $25,000 erach year into a reserve to provide for the tear down sometime down the road.”

She added that the township may be eligible for grants to assist with the tear down if it is done in order to build a senior's residence.

These responses did not satisfy Kent Labbett.

He told the News that he does not “think the township should be involved in real estate speculation. That should be left to people in the land development business.”

He also said he does not understand how the Mayor did not read the “package about the property from the school board. To acknowledge she had it and yet didn't read it is troubling. Why would she not consult with her head building official in advance of purchases rather than after the fact? If she had it would have made her aware that the building was of no value and tearing it down would be a major expense.”

He has written a follow up letter to the Mayor making these points as well as others. Here is his concluding paragraph: “In my opinion I do not feel these purchases were prudent with the informaion available. Please provide some solid information that hopefully will change my opinion of what I think was an extremely poor decision on the part of Central Frontenac Council. Would you have acted in the same fashion if you were spending your personal money as opposed to taxpayers? Just saying ... ”

Softened Official Plan amendment on large-scale renewable energy projects approved by Council

The approval of an amendment to North Frontenac Township's official plan has enhanced the township's continuing efforts to ensure that plans to expand Ontario's wind turbine sector do not result in wind projects within its boundaries.

Reid Shepherd, a planner with Frontenac County, the contract planner for North Frontenac, presented the amendment, which is designed to discourage the development of industrial wind turbines and other large-scale industrial development.

The amendment includes the following final sentence: “In order to maintain this place, it is a policy of Council to not support any large-scale renewable energy project, along with mining and large-scale manufacturing plants that will have a negative impact on the overall landscape of the township.”

Deputy Mayor Fred Perry asked how the words “large scale” are defined, and Councilor John Inglis said, “That is the big question isn't it?

Mayor Ron Higgins said the OP amendment gives the township the ability to evaluate projects, be they wind turbines, solar installations, “or any other kind of proposal for industry of mining, and evaluate them in terms of environmental and landscape factors that are relevant to our long-term plans.”

There were no comments from the public on the amendment, and a bylaw approving it was later passed by Council. It will now go to Frontenac County for approval.

Everyone's a critic – council nixes plans for new sign at Snow Road Community Centre

A proposal from the South Palmerston Community Centre (SPCC) to put up a new sign at the Snow Road Community Centre prompted Mayor Higgins to say that he thinks all signage projects should be put on hold until representatives from the Economic Development Department of Frontenac County present their plans for the roll-out of the new Frontenac County branding project.

In their proposal, the community centre committee is offering to raise half of the estimated $2,500 cost of the sign, and is asking the township to come up with the rest of the money.

“I don't know what the county is planning on the township level, but we should wait on this sign. The county may have ideas about how all signage is integrated with the brand,” said Higgins.

“I agree,” said Councilor John Inglis, “and besides, I don't really like the sign they are proposing and I think it is too expensive. But then I don't want to discourage a community group.”

Councilor Denis Bedard said that the township need not worry about the South Palmerston Community Centre's feelings on the matter.

“It's our building. We should decide what the signage should look like. And if they don't want to do what we want, they can go jump in a river.”

“We do own the halls, but the local committees do a lot of work to run them, and the township benefits,” said Inglis.

“I think it's enough to say we want to wait until we hear about the branding,” said Higgins.

The proposed sign features a bell, and one of the councilors asked why there was a bell in the sign.

“The hall used to be a schoolhouse,” said Councilor Gerry Martin. “Maybe that's the reason.”

Recycling rates steady

A report on the rate of recycling at township dumps over the three spring months (April to June) in 2016 shows that all the township sites received about the same amount of waste as they did during the same period last year.

The recycling rates vary from site to site, from a low of 54% at the Road 506 site, to a high of 64% at the Kashwakamak Lake site. Overall, the rate of recycling, measured on a bag-to-bag ratio, was 59.99% for the quarter, down slightly from 60.61% for the same period last year.

The provincial target for recycling is 60%, but measured on a weight-to-weight basis, not bag to bag, as North Frontenac calculates. Since bags of garbage tend to be heavier than those of recyclables, it would take an increase in rates of recycling in North Frontenac to reach the target.

New boots for Clar-Mill firefighters

The eight members of the Clar-Mill fire crew will each be receiving new $485 Globe Supreme Structural Foot Gear 14 inch Leather Pull On boots, thanks to a $4,000 donation by the Clarendon Miller Volunteer Firefighter Association. The boots will go to existing firefighters and not to new recruits. The regular fire boots that are supplied by the department cost just less than $200.

Impact felt from Richardson's return

Mike Richardson, looking rested and relaxed, shook hands with his old and new bosses before settling down to make his first report in his role as interim public works manager for Central Frontenac on Tuesday afternoon (August 8) at this month's only meeting of Central Frontenac Council.

“I'm happy to be here since I was ready for something to do with myself. But don't forget that I am retired and the township still needs to look for a permanent person for the job,” he said.

Parts of the report that he submitted were for items that he said Council might be more familiar with than he was, but there were a number of items where he had made changes and a number of others where he was seeking direction from Council.

One change he has made is in the way personnel are used. Terry Asselstine, who supervises township buildings, is now overseeing the waste sites as well.

“Terry has a lot of experience at the waste sites and he has been able to bring them back into compliance with regulations,” he said.

He also presented the tenders for the Arden Road construction project. The lowest bid was from Gemmill Sand and Gravel at $313,247 which is $43,000 over the budgeted amount of $260,000.

Part of the reason for the overage is that Richardson changed the specifications of the job, lowering a hill by 2 metres, straightening the road by 1.5 metres, and clearing rock to a width of 12 metres instead of 9 in order to make the road safer once the project is completed. As well, only 1.4 kilometres of road will be done, instead of 5 in order to stay within range of the budget.

The extra $43,000 can be found in other areas of the construction budget. Council accepted Richardson's changes and granted the contract to Gemmill's.

Burke Settlement Road bridges

Richardson recommended that instead of doing a rehabilitation project only on bridge #15 on Burke Settlement Road, work will be done on bridge #16 as well. He said that the two projects are similar and could be done at once. The extra cost of $140,000 can come from the public works reserve.

“If we do this job this year and the Elm Tree Road bridge next year, it will being our bridge rehabilitation plan to completion by 2018, at which time council will have the freedom to look at other types of infrastructure projects,” he said.

Council accepted his recommendation.

No to Crow Lake speed bump, not to speed hump

“I'm not sure if Council is asking public works to deal with the speed issue at Crow Lake or if a speed bump has been approved, but I would recommend against a speed bump,” Richardson said.

He said that as far as he is concerned the best way to deal with the issue is to take it on when the road is re-paved, which is due to be done. “With proper engineering we can deal with this in a more permanent way” he said.

The other alternative is a speed hump, rather than a bump, which is designed to be safely crossed at a speed of 40 km/hr, whereas a bump is designed to be safely crossed at 15 km/hr.

“I use that road myself everyday,” said Richardson, “and 15 km/hr is pretty slow.”

He said that he has consulted with the engineer for the City of Kingston, who uses speed humps for specific purposes. “She said that the humps can be used in specific circumstances. They usually put a temporary hump in to see what it does, and the temporary hump costs $5,000.”

He pointed out that there is no room at the side of the road at that location, and that a hump “might lead to cars landing on houses.”

Councilor Tom Dewey said, “We are already into August, and we would have to remove the hump in a couple of months anyway.”

Noxious weeds

Richardson recommended that the township approach Frontenac County about developing a strategy to deal with noxious weeds on the sides of township roads, particularly Giant Hogweed and Wild Parsnip.

“It's something that should be dealt with, maybe by hiring a weed specialist on a contract basis to look at it on a county level. There's no point dealing with this as a township,” said Richardson.

“We could bring this up at the meeting of the chief administrative officers” said Mayor Frances Smith.

“I think it should be brought directly to Council. I think there is nothing more effective than an angry mayor at a political meeting,” said Richardson.

“It's not like that any more,” said Smith, “but I will bring it to the council.”

Wheelchair ramp for Road 38.

When the bridge was taken out at Road 38 in Sharbot Lake, a wheelchair ramp on the east side of the road was removed and not replaced. Councilor Bill MacDonald said that he has been approached by a constituent who says they now have to ride much further in order to cross the road as a result. Council approved spending $2850 to put in a ramp.

Eagle Lake floating dock removed

Building Inspector Jeremy Neven reported that the floating dock on Eagle Lake has deteriorated to the point where it is no longer safe and has been removed.

“We have extended the fixed dock as far as we could,” said Neven, “and we will need to put the cost of a new floating dock in the 2017 budget. But we will hear from people about this soon.”

Crow Lake boat launch

As the result of historically low water levels on Crow Lake, island dweller Lyle Turner, who said his family has owned their cottage for 44 years, appeared before Council to talk about how difficult it has become to put a boat in or take a boat out of the water at the township dock on Crow Lake.

“The water is so low and the rocks have been pushed out from the dock by the lake so it actually gets more shallow as you go deeper in. It's very difficult and risky to put in or take out a boat right now,” he said.

He suggested that the township clean out some rocks from under the water.

Jeremy Neven said that in order to do something under the water the township would need to get clearance from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and maybe the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans “which could take some time, maybe a fair bit of time.”

Council instructed Neven to see if there was a way to expedite matters.

“Let's not forget we are dealing with the driest year in a long time,” said Frances Smith. “I have heard reports from people who say their well has gone dry for the first time in over 50 years.”

Council celebrates firefighters

South Frontenac Council's celebration for long serving firefighters, which took place before the August council meeting on Tuesday night (August 2), started on a poignant note, as Fire Chief Rick Cheseborough requested that Mayor Vandewal call for a minute of silence in recognition of the recent death of a volunteer firefighter, Patrick Pidgeon, in Amherstview.

That start underlined the kind of sacrifices that have been made by the six South Frontenac volunteer firefighters and their families over the years. In addition to recognition from the Ontario Fire Marshal's office, the township also presented certificates to the men. Captains Rick Nelson and Brian McCarthy were both on hand to receive their 30-year pins, and firefighter Mike Noonan received his 25-year pin. Firefighter Steve Young (25 years), Captain Mark McDermott, and Deputy Fire Chief Tom Veldmand could not make it to the ceremony and will receive their pins in a private ceremony.

Council approves organizational review 'light'

South Frontenac Council has approved a proposal by the Corporate Services Committee to hire a new manager for Development Services at a salary of about $100,000 per year.

The approval puts in place only one of the positions contemplated by a consultant's report that was presented to Council in March, which envisioned the creation of up to six new positions, most of them at the management and senior management levels.

The new manager of Development Services will oversee the planning and building departments and economic development efforts and will also play an integral in the township's efforts to assume responsibility for plan of subdivision and plan of condominium approvals by 2019. Those approvals are now under the jurisdiction of Frontenac County.

Once the new position is filled, which is not likely to happen until late October, a senior management team will be in place to oversee the work of township staff and “to develop an implementation plan for the strategic plan, as well as required policy and long term needs”, said a report that was adopted unanimously by Council at their August 2 meeting.

The management team will include CAO Orr, Treasurer Louise Fragnito, Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth, and the new manager of Development Services.

As part of the new structure, the Recreation Supervisor Tim Laprade will report to the public works manager, and Human Resources/Legislative Service Compliance Officer Sherry Cornell will report to the treasurer.

The new structure will greatly reduce the number of staff who report directly to CAO Orr, which was one of the key needs identified in the organizational review that was presented to Council back in March.

Some of the other recommendations in the report, such as the hiring of a communications person, a full time deputy clerk, and a fire safety officer, are to be deferred, but not for long.

The final recommendation in the corporate services report that was adopted is “that the 2017 and 2018 recommendations be brought forward for decision in advance of the corresponding budget debate”. The 2017 budget will be discussed in October.

Council adopted the Corporate Services Committee's report and all nine of its recommendations in a unanimous vote.

The net cost of the plan, including salaries and some one-time spending, will be about $41,000 in 2016 and $127,000 per year going forward.

Fencing approved at the Point Park, but school board support proves elusive

Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth presented the results of a tender for the construction of a fence around the new and improved football field at the Point Park, and recommended that the township award the contract to the lowest bidder, Lennox Fencing, for $60,130 plus HST.

The field is the home of football and soccer for Sydenham High School, and the Limestone District School Board has paid 50% of the $300,000 cost of renovations thus far. The proposed motion to grant the contract to Lennox Fencing approved the $60,130 cost “under the understanding” that the Limestone Board would pay half of that back to the township.

“I have been having some difficulty getting a response about this from the school board,” said Segsworth. “They don't seem to want to call me back and we need to approve it now if we want the fence in place when the kids get back to school in September.”

Segworth said that he did not really think a fence was necessary but Rec. Committee members felt that a fence was necessary

Councilor Norm Roberts said, “I feel the fence is required because you are going to have vandalism otherwise,” a point of view that was echoed by other members of Council.

Councilor Mark Schjerning said, “The purpose of the fence is two-fold: to keep cars off the field and to prevent vandalism.”

The only thing of concern was the wording of the motion.

“We can't force the school board to pay their share so why include them in the motion at all?” said Mayor Ron Vandewal. “We have to do it anyway.”

Councilor John McDougall said he is reluctant to move forward without the school board at the table, but the need to get the project done by September won out.

“Working with the school board has been interesting all along,” said Segsworth, “but I don't want to say anything more than that.”

Council voted to award to contract with no reference to the school board.

Speed limit changes approved

“Speed, speed, speed. It's an issue we deal with all the time, and its almost always about requests to lower speed limits,” said Mark Segsworth in presenting proposals to lower the speed limit to 60 km/hr on a number of township roads. They include an 800-metre section on the Westport Road; over 2 km on Duff Road; 1.5 kilometres of Greenfield Road; 2.7 kilometres on Alton Road west; 1.6 kilometres on Henderson Road; 2.75 kilometres on Murton Road; 400 metres on Walker Road; and two sections of Canoe Lake Road, one of which is 1.3 kilometres long and the other 400 metres.

One road was deferred so Council can clarify where the speed limitation will start and where it will end. That was North Shore Road, where 10 km is proposed for a reduced speed limit.

“We really should have taken the public works manager's suggestion that we make 60 km per hour the default speed lmit and only put up signs on roads where the speed limit is 80 km/hr. We would have saved money in the long run,” said Ron Vandewal.

Ron Sleeth goes on a rant

When it came time at the end of the meeting for Council members' announcements, Councilor Ron Sleeth said, “I have more of a rant than an announcement.”

He then proceeded to speak in rapid succession about a number of measures taken by Frontenac County at their meeting in July, including adopting the new county logo, which he describes as “empty”. He also complained about the proposed spending to renovate the county office, and a proposal to hire a second communications officer.

“It just boggles my mind what is going on there,” he said, “I would like to thank our mayor and Councilor McDougall for trying to protect our money there, since it is our ratepayers who put in 60% of the money, and my district, Storrington is the largest in South Frontenac and we have no direct representative there.”

John McDougall said, “I have to disagree with you about the logo, which is really much more than that when you look at it and hear the entire presentation, which will be presented at our Council. But as for the rest of it, you're spot on.”

“That logo and branding was paid for with grant money, so while it is all taxpayers' money it does not come directly from our ratepayers,” said Ron Vandewal. “But I do see where you are coming from.”

The new Frontenac County logo was unveiled at the summer meeting of Frontenac County Council in Glenburnie last week (July 20)

Jon Allison, from RedTrain of Kingston, presented the crest-shaped logo and the accompanying InFrontenac tagline with a slide show that outlined the potential uses of the materials for marketing everything from products produced by Frontenac County businesses, to tourism experiences in the county, and the concept of “Frontenac”.

The logo features three swatches of colour: grey representing rocks; green representing agricultural fields; and blue representing water. At the bottom there is a maple leaf, a reference to Canada, and sitting on the swatches of colour there are four trees, which represent the four Frontenac townships.

The graphic renditions of the trees are meant to represent Balsam Fir trees, Jon Allison said.

The word “County” has been deliberately left off the branding materials, except when it is used to identify the county administration itself.

“The idea is to establish the Frontenac identity on its own, not as a political jurisdiction,” said Jon Allison in explaining why RedTrain came to the conclusion that the concept of Frontenac needs to be freed from the bounds of the county to be able to live in the minds of both residents and visitors alike.

He said this determination came from interviewing residents of Frontenac County.

“What do they think now? Those who live/work in the area say 'We love it here. It is our piece of heaven'. But they also say they don’t really think of it beyond the area they live or work in. What do we want them to think? 'I am proud to say I am from Frontenac. It is a large region with incredible diversity and lots to offer. It is so great to see that more and more people are discovering us',” said Allison, in his presentation.

Before the logo was discussed by members of Council, Allison presented numerous applications for it, from billboards, newspaper/magazine ad campaigns, social media applications, and large banners and signage.

The response to the logo by members of Frontenac County Council was muted, at best.

“I'm surprised we got this far with only one option to choose from,” said Frontenac Islands Mayor Dennis Doyle. “I'm missing the wow factor here, and without the explanation I would not know what those colours are supposed to mean. I've also never seen a Fir tree on Wolfe Island.”

Councilor Natalie Nossal, also from Frontenac Islands, thought that the maple leaf at the bottom of the crest looked messy. “It looks to me like something floating in a river.”

South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal said, “For me, at least, the word county needs to be there, even in small letters at the bottom.”

The representatives from North Frontenac, Mayor Ron Higgins and Councilor John Inglis, had both seen the logo and tagline when it was presented to the North Frontenac Economic Development Task Force in June. They indicated that as they have become more familiar with the materials, they have grown to like it more and more.

“I like the simplicity of it. I can see this is a brand identity that is going to catch on,” said Higgins.

“The question I have is, where do we go from here?” said Warden Frances Smith.”

That question was answered soon enough. After Council voted to adopt the new branding materials, which came at the end of a three-hour meeting, county staff unfurled some large banners that had already been made up using the logo, advertising “Food to Fork – InFrontenac”, and “Adventure and Tranquility – InFrontenac”.

In the parking lot by the office there was also a brand new Smart Car, with the new logo and tag lines already decaled all over it.

“I guess they weren't exactly waiting for us to approve it,” said Dennis Doyle.

Frontenac County staff presented a report last week that outlines the projected costs for three different options to reconfigure the county's administrative offices.

As usual with reports concerning potential construction projects in the public sector, it provoked sticker shock among members of Council.

The county offices are located in what is known as the Old House, a building that the county purchased in 1965 on a 7.7-hectare lot for $78,000. At that time the property was located in Pittsburgh Township, which was part of Frontenac County. The Fairmount Home for the Aged was built on the property and an annex was built between the two structures. In 1998 Pittsburgh Township joined the new City of Kingston, but Frontenac County maintained ownership of Fairmount Home and the Old House, which was, and is still being used to house Frontenac County’s administrative offices.

The complex also houses the administrative offices of Frontenac Paramedic Services, which was established in 2002 to provide land ambulance service to Frontenac County and the City of Kingston.

The Old House still looks and feels like a house, with offices located in renovated bedrooms off a circular staircase to the second floor. There is also an unused living room that is located between the administrative wing and the Clayton Room, a medium-sized meeting room that was used for County Council meetings when there were only four members of Council but is now only used for committee meetings.

Accessibility issues throughout the building, in particular access to the second floor, as well as operating expenses are what led council to start looking at long-term options to bring the offices to an efficient, modern standard.

The most inexpensive option that was presented is to make minimal changes the building, and simply “Renovate for washroom accessibility + improved reception + improved office productivity.” The cost estimate for that project is over $833,250.

The second option was to abandon the second floor of the Old House, move the staff that are housed there to the current Frontenac Paramedic Services (FPS) offices, and move the FPS headquarters to leased space in the City of Kingston. The cost estimate is $854,000 for construction, but this option would also result in extra annual leasing costs for FPS.

The final option was to completely renovate the Old House and turn it into a two-storey, accessible office building and build an addition. The cost for that project is an estimated $4.4 million

The report also presented two related, lower-cost versions of this option. One of them includes the addition but limits the renovation to the Old House to making a first-floor washroom accessible. It comes in at $2.5 million. The final option presented was to do some renovations to the existing Old House building and build a small addition. It comes to $2.8 million.

County Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Pender, who wrote the report, recommends the final option that was presented, for $2.8 million.

He said that it “provides the best value by ensuring that all current deficiencies are addressed while providing for all space needs for the foreseeable future. It also keeps FPS administration within the current facility, while not eliminating future options for alternate uses of the FPS suite and/or the second floor.”

Although Council agreed to set up the task force, the prospects that the project will proceed according to the time lines that Pender included in his report are minimal. The task force is expected to report back in time for the project to be included in this year’s budget deliberations in the fall.

“I haven't seen a number here that I can support,” said South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal. “We could build a stand-alone building for less. There is no way I would support this.”

Frontenac Islands Mayor Dennis Doyle said, “I've got a worry about the cost of all this. Once we get into this it could lead to a levy increase. It should be deferred until budget at the very least.”

Councilor Natalie Nossal from Frontenac Islands, the council point person for Frontenac Paramedic Services, said, “It is not optimal to move FPS to a new location, away from the administration. That would make [the second option] unacceptable.”

Councilor John McDougall said that the task force should be given leave to look at other options as well.

“I think the options are somewhat limited,” he said.

A motion to set up a task force to work with staff to come up with a recommendation was approved. It is unclear if the task force will report back in time for the 2017 budget.

New personal support worker shift at Fairmount – Yes

Council supported a recommendation from Lisa Hirvi, the interim administrator for Fairmount Home, to increase the complement of personal support workers in the home by one 7 ½ hour shift per day.

In the report that accompanied the request, Hirvi said that the increasing frailty of residents when they enter the home has made it hard for staff to keep up with the demand for care. She also wrote that the home has received more in transfers from the province this year than budgeted. She recommended that the position be brought in on a trial basis until the end of the year so a more permanent commitment can be considered when the 2017 budget is being considered.

Councilor John Inglis from North Frontenac said, “I support this position. At the same time I think we should look further at the fact that Fairmount remains at the high cost end for municipally-run homes.”

The vote in support of the new position was unanimous.

Second communications officer – Not now

Council did not accept a staff proposal to create a new communications officer position. The staff proposal was to fund the position partly from the Frontenac Paramedic Services (FPS) budget, which would have only a minimal impact on Frontenac County ratepayers who pay only a small portion of the FPS budget since the Province of Ontario and the City of Kingston pay the lion's share.

They were also seek support from the Frontenac townships through individual fee-for-service agreements.

One of the larger parts of the new position’s responsibilities would be to manage the ever-increasing county and FPS social media profiles.

The net impact on the 2017 budget would be an increase in the Communications budget from $80,000 to $115,000.

Council was in not in a mood to spend the money.

“I think I need to hear from my Council before I support this,” said Frontenac Islands Mayor Dennis Doyle.

South Frontenac Councilor John McDougall noted that the proposal did not come with an endorsement from the four township CAOs, who meet regularly to discuss prospects for shared services among themselves and the county.

North Frontenac Councilor John Inglis had the line of the day, when he said that North Frontenac does not need help with Twitter and Facebook because, “We have a mayor who is pretty slippery when it comes to social media”, a reference to Mayor Ron Higgins, who uses Twitter on almost a daily basis to comment on municipal and other matters.

Although Council did not agree to set up the new communications position, they did not reject it entirely either.

The proposal will be forwarded to each of the townships for review and comment by October 19.

Good news is bad news in township fight to prevent possibility of industrial wind turbines being installed within its borders.

In its quest to rid itself of the potential for industrial wind turbine development, North Frontenac Council has enlisted the efforts of Joe Gallivan, the Frontenac County manager of Planning and Development Services, to draft an Official Plan amendment to state that large-scale industrial development is contrary to the township's long-term plan.

Gallivan responded with the following paragraph, to be added at the end of Appendix 4.18 - Energy, Air Quality and Sustainability: “The landscape character of North Frontenac is unique and unspoiled. The large tracts of Crown land, hundreds of lakes, wetlands, and the hills of the Madawaska Highlands all combine to create a sense of place. This character is a key foundation for the future economic development opportunities including accommodations, high tech remote offices, recreational outfitters, small businesses, and specialty businesses such as craft breweries and artisan foods. In order to maintain this place, it is a policy of Council to not support any large-scale renewable energy project, along with mining and large-scale manufacturing plants that will have a negative impact on the overall landscape of the township.”

After Joe Gallivan read out the new paragraph, Deputy Mayor Fred Perry asked Gallivan if the provincial government will react when, as is likely, Frontenac County Council approves the change.

“It is within our jurisdiction to do this. But the Green Energy Act over-rides the Planning Act so no matter what the Official Plan says it will not limit the government's ability to approve a renewable energy project in North Frontenac if it wants to,” said Gallivan.

“What this language does do, however,” he continued, “is make a pro-active statement about the kinds of development that the township is trying to attract and how heavy industry is not compatible with that vision. It puts the township on the leading edge of municipalities and makes the kind of statement of intent that cannot be ignored.”

Seniors' housing task force

Janette Amini, from Frontenac County, outlined how North Frontenac can work on developing a small seniors' housing complex in the township in order to fulfill its part of a county-wide goal to establish a new seniors' housing project in each of the Frontenac townships.

Mayor Higgins and Councilor Vernon (Micky) Hermer will join with county representatives Tom Dewey and John McDougall on a task force that will consult with North Frontenac Council and the public with a view towards coming up with a made-in-North Frontenac solution.

“Frontenac Islands was the first to get started and they are building a five-unit complex that will be a market rent facility,” said Amini.

South Frontenac began looking at a project in February and are focusing on a location within Sydenham, which has a public water supply. They are also looking at a market rent project.

“North Frontenac is starting just now, and I presented to Central Frontenac last week,” she said.

Joe Gallivan, who accompanied Amini, said that one of the first things that the task force will need to decide is if it wants to develop a market rent facility, or a rent-subsidized facility.

“There is more grant money available for a rent-subsidized facility,” said Gallivan. “Jeanette has all the information about the grants that are available.

Frontenac County also has seed money put aside to help each of the townships fulfill the pledge to develop a new facility. The township would not likely find a not-for-profit corporation to take ownership over any housing complex that it helped build.

A public meeting will be set up to gauge interest in a North Frontenac housing project.

Canada 150 funding application

Council authorized Cory Klatt, the manager of Community Development, to apply for an grant under the Canada 150 Infrastructure granting program to help fund the $1.375 million upgrade/renovation to the township office complex.

The grant can provide for up to 50% of the cost of a so-called shovel-ready construction project, up to $500,000. North Frontenac is seeking the maximum grant.

Some fire bans lifted in townships

The Cataraqui Region (CRCA) and Mississippi Valley (MVCA) Conservation Authorities both upgraded their drought warnings from “minimal” to “moderate” early this week, leaving only one more level to reach, a “severe” warning.

In a release, the CRCA said “Inland lake levels, which had been holding steady through the early part of the drought, have started to decline below target levels. With the continued lack of precipitation, and warm sunny weather, evaporation will be high, and lake levels will continue to fall. Care should be taken with navigation, as lower water levels will expose boaters to hazards that are normally well below the water surface, boat hulls and boat props.”

For their part, the MVCA said on June 30 that, “Flows in the main branch of the river remain at approximately 25% of normal, while flows in the smaller tributaries continue to be roughly 10% of normal for this time of year. All of the upper lakes in the watershed have begun to drop over the last week.”

Quinte Region issued a release on July 6, reiterated a stage 1 or “minimal” low water advisory, but also said, “We are predicting that we will soon be in a Level 2 Low Water Condition and will be meeting with our Low Water Response Team to go over current conditions and weather forecasts.”

Rideau Valley Conservation Authority has not upgraded the drought status, which was issued on June 6, but a further announcement is expected in the coming days.

Fire bans all over the map

There have changes to the fire ban status throughout the region over the past two weeks. As of Tuesday, in the townships of Central, North and South Frontenac, and Addington Highlands, burning is permitted as normal (see the townships' web sites for updates). Throughout the County of Lanark there is a partial burn ban in place, and small cooking fires are permitted. There is a total fire ban in Kingston.

This article will be updated as further information becomes available.