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Feature Article - March 1, 2007Travel Tots
by Jeff Green
The Child Centre in Sharbot Lake provides many services for children in Portland and Bedford District, and in Central and North Frontenac, but services are of no value if kids can’t get to them. The staff at the Child Centre try to help kids get to Child Centre programs, and to medical, pre-natal and specialised appointments in Kingston and beyond, by helping with transportation costs.
To help fund their transportation program, the Child Centre will be hosting their third annual Travel for Tots dance and silent auction on Friday March 23rd at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour in Kingston .
This licensed event includes refreshments, games and door prizes galore, a Foozeball tournament where the winner gets to keep the table, mini-raffle items, as well as dancing and a spectacular silent auction.
This year the silent auction items include an overnight trip to Niagara Falls (including tickets to Marineland), an overnight in Gananoque (including boat cruise tickets), dinner and movie tickets, and much more.
In advance of the event, the Child Centre has been raising money by collecting pennies and Canadian Tire money, as well as cash donations, so that all of the costs for the Travel for Tots are now covered. This means that every penny raised at the event will go directly into transportation. Three thousand dollars was raised in the first year of the event, $4,000 in the second year, and organisers are hoping to go even higher this year.
Tickets are $15 in advance, and $18 at the door. Can’t make it to Kingston on the 23rd? Buy a ticket anyway, and you will be entered in special draw. For information and ticket purchases, phone 613-279-2244 or 279-2260.
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Feature Article - April 12, 2007Rural Routes is growing!
Rural Routes is growing! We need your help! Why not become a Volunteer Driver – drive as much or as little as you like – it’s up to you! People who volunteer make a difference.
Rural Routes, operating under the umbrella of Northern Frontenac Community Services, provides transportation to residents of the townships of North Frontenac, Central Frontenac, and Bedford Township in South Frontenac. We work with Adult Services, the Child Centre, Northern Connections Learning Centre, Ontario Works, ODSP, Children’s Aid Society, the Triboard Student Transportation, as well as individuals who require the service.
An Evaluation conducted in November found that 48% of clients are over 60 years of age; 78% have an annual income of less than $19,000, and the most common use of Rural Routes is for shopping, banking, medical and dental appointments.
Some clients do not drive, or do not own a vehicle. Others are very happy to drive locally, but are uncomfortable driving into the city – that’s where you as a volunteer driver for Rural Routes can help out. By providing the kind of transportation we do, Rural Routes offers residents the ability to get to and from personal appointments for a range of medical services they may require, as well as social, cultural and recreational activities. Seniors are able to access shopping trips or destinations of special interest.
Volunteer drivers are required to have a valid drivers license, one million auto liability insurance, a Police Check and Drivers Record Check, and a cell phone. Volunteer drivers are paid a ‘reasonable reimbursement’ of .35/k for transportation provided. Drive destinations are Kingston, Perth, Smiths Falls, occasionally Ottawa, and Belleville. All transportation is arranged through the office.
Also, when transporting children, it would be very helpful to have another adult in the vehicle to deal with the immediate needs of the children. “Look at this!” “Can you get my book? It fell!” We are looking for volunteers to act in this capacity.
All across Canada volunteers are routinely engaged in enriching the lives of others – as a matter of fact, volunteers might be considered Canada’s greatest natural resource! This caring group of people makes a meaningful contribution that strengthens the fabric of Canadian society and helps to build strong communities.
Think about making your community a better place – about enriching the lives of others – and who knows? You may end up with a smile on your face!
For more information about becoming a volunteer driver or a driver’s assistants for Rural Routes Transportation Service, call Jane at 613-279-2044 or 1-877-279-2044.
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Feature Article - June 14, 2007Rural Routes invites you to the theatre
On August 23, at 8 pm, we’re off to the 1000 Island Playhouse in Gananoque to enjoy an evening of exhuberant entertainment - the toe-tapping musical, Anne & Gilbert.
This play is based on the next books in the Anne of Green Gables series, and adds a contemporary sensibility to the now-grown Anne, who is still full of firey idealistic imagination and still at temperamental odds with her more conventional companions. The musical boasts loveable characters, lively east coast music and lots of romance! Music by Bob Johnson and Nancy White (of CBC radio fame), book by Jeff Hochhauser. Seen for the first time outside PEI.
On September 29, we're off to Stirling Festival Theatre to enjoy ELVIS - The Way it Was! Tribute artist Stephen Kabakos plays Elvis Presley from the Golden to the Vegas years. Stephen is one of the most highly-praised and sought-after Elvis stylists in the country and was crowned Grand Champion at the 2001 Images of the King World Competition in Memphis, Tennessee. He delivers an astonishing high-energy stage performance mastering the look, sound, and mannerisms of the King of Rock and Roll.
The show covers Elvis' entire career from the early Sun Studio recordings to the explosive concert years. A must see for all who remember "The King" and remain
faithful fans through the years!
Transportation and Admission are included in the price of $55 for each event. Please call Jane at Rural Routes Transportation Service 613-279-2044 to book your tickets. Don't Wait - only 12 tickets available for each performance!
Other Stories this Week View RSS feedTransportation
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Feature Article - August 9, 2007Transportation the only source of debate at quiet county meeting
by Jeff Green
Frontenac County Council held their only meeting of the summer last week, and aside from receiving a few reports, they had little to discuss.
Approval was given in short order to award a tender for a $135,000 roof repair to the Fairmount Home.
However, the terms of reference for a transportation study did give the councillors an opportunity to disagree.
A Request for Proposal for the $10,000 business plan, using funds that were held back from a one-time only grant to the Rural Routes Transportation Service, included wording that Central Frontenac Mayor Janet Gutowski feared would limit the study.
The business plan will be limited to a transportation service “in the county to help those truly in need of getting to essential services or appointments for employment or health-related reasons,” according to the staff recommendation.
Gutowski said she favoured an amendment that would add accessing food, child care and youth services.
“We need to decide how deeply we want to get into this,” said South Frontenac Mayor Gary Davison, “I’m concerned about the potential cost to taxpayers.”
Janet Gutowski replied that limiting the service too much would make it less viable, “because of economies of scale and things like that.”
Deputy Warden Jim Vanden Hoek, who was chairing the meeting in the absence of Warden Ron Maguire from North Frontenac, asked if the request for proposal could be delayed until September when all four councillors would be in attendance.
“That would make it difficult to have the business plan completed this year,” said County CAO Elizabeth Fulton.
She then suggested that Mayor Gutowski’s concerns could be accommodated within the framework that staff had already developed.
“Accessing food could be considered an essential service, and child care can be seen as related to employment,” she said.
“If the minutes point to that out as direction to the staff, would that be enough for you?” VandenHoek asked Janet Gutowski.
She agreed.
The reluctance to enter into transportation services that has been expressed by Mayor Davison on this occasion, and Mayor Van denHoek earlier this year, contrasts with the attitude taken by Lanark County Council. In Lanark County a transportation program has been receiving municipal funding for several years, and a study has been commissioned to look into expanding the program into a full blown regional public transit system, that could be up and running as early as this fall.
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Central Frontenac Council, Sept 25by Jeff Green
NFCS - Scott Black, Director of Adult Services, and Sue Leslie, Director of Children’s Services, presented council with an overview of the services offered by Northern Frontenac Community Services (NFCS).The 32-year-old organisation provides a range of services for children, adults, and seniors, and has recently initiated a youth program. The agency has a budget of $1.5 million per year, and 29 employees.Jane Drew, who runs Rural Routes, a transportation program that NFCS started up two years ago, provided an overview for Council’s benefit. “Forty-eight percent of the people we serve are aged 60 and over and 78% have an income of $19,000 per year or less,” Jane Drew told council.Scott Black pointed out that “transportation programs throughout Ontario all require municipal support to survive,” and mentioned that Rural Routes would be eligible for provincial gas tax support if it “was a line item in a municipal budget.”Jane Drew said that in 2007, Rural Routes received one-time funding of $36,500 from Frontenac County.Mayor Gutowski pointed out that transportation “has become an issue in the provincial election campaign.”Rural Routes serves a small portion of South Frontenac, and Janet Gutowski said she will “continue to advocate for county funding, but our council might have to look at this as well.”Winter sand tenders - The winter sand tender was awarded to the lowest bidder, Nedow Construction, for $93,2000Road speed signs - Township staff recently erected 60 km/hr signs on small and dead end roads throughout the township, in accordance with a bylaw that was approved some four years.Unfortunately, said township interim CAO John DuChene in a report to Council, 60 km/hr is an inappropriate speed for many of the roads, “i.e. too fast for the conditions of the road”.Staff will review the listed roads and recommend appropriate speed limits. It was pointed out that it is important to post speed limits on back roads because un-posted roads all carry an 80 km/hr speed limit in Ontario.Organisational Review - The consulting firm “Wineberg/Donaldson/Muince will conduct a long- awaited organisational review of the township’s operations for a maximum of $50,000. Not only was theirs the lowest bid, they did similar work for Stone Mills and South Frontenac Townships and their work has been endorsed by CAO Gord Burns of South Frontenac.Railway museum – Council accepted a proposal by the Central Frontenac Railway museum to lay some track in the vicinity of the old Sharbot Lake station in order to display some of their artefacts.“Right now, the only thing that is there is some poison ivy, which is not much of an asset to the township,” said Mayor Gutowski in supporting the proposal.Editorial_08-04
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Editorial - January 31, 2008 Frontenac County Council keeps transportation hopes alive Editorial by Jeff GreenA year ago, South Frontenac Mayor Gary Davison and Frontenac Islands Mayor Jim Vanden Hoek agreed, reluctantly, to put a $36,000 grant to the Rural Routes Transprtation Service in the 2007 Frontenac County budget. They insisted, however, that the money be given as a one-time grant, to help the service survive until more stable funding could be found.
So, it is not surprising that Gary Davison, in particular, was not supportive of a $40,000 funding request from Rural Routes in 2008. That request was rejected by County Council on a 2-2 vote, with Janet Gutowski from Central Frontenac, and Ron Maguire from North Frontenac, supportig the motion.
Gary Davison has two major concerns about Rural Routes. One objection has to do with the fact that Rural Routes serves people in North and Central Frontenac and in Bedford District of South Frontenac, and he argues that county funding, of which South Frontenac residents supply 58%, should not be going to programs that aren't available throughout the county.
Davison's second concern, which he has expressed every time this issue has been raised, is that if the county gets involved in transportation, the cost will inevitably go up and up as demand increases.
In order to address these concerns a transportation study was undertaken last year by county staff.
The study found that there is indeed a need for transportation services for the “at risk” population in Frontenac County. There are many poor and elderly people who no longer have the kinds of family supports that were traditionally available in the past, and in order to access essential services, such as medical appointments, a number of people need help.
These results mirror the results that were found by Northern Frontenac Community Services when they undertook a community needs study four years ago, and Rural Routes was developed for that reason.
Northern Frontenac Community Services has been providing transportation to both children and adults on an ad hoc basis for years, but with limited administrative funding, agency staff had difficulty keeping up with the demand for transportation. Rural Routes was set up as a dispatch service.
Rural Routes, which opened its doors three years ago. is a user-pay service, charging 42 cents per kilometre for drives. This 42 cents is used to pay mileage to volunteer drivers, at the less than market rate of 35 cents per kilometre, leaving 7 cents per kilometre for administration, dispatching, driver training, etc.
Rural Routes has not been able to maintain itself on this money, and thus they approached the County of Frontenac for support.
Municipal support for transportation is common in urban settings, and rural counties in various parts of the province also fund transportation. There is also a provincial incentive for this, as every dollar a municipality spends on transportation can be supplemented with 75 cent grant from the province to be spent on transportation.
Because of this, the mayors of North and Central Frontenac have been pushing for a commitment from the county to support Rural Routes. In response, the mayors of South Frontenac and Frontenac Islands have wondered aloud why, if it is such a priority, North and Central Frontenac townships have not taken this on themselves.
The impasse over transportaion at the county has not been resolved, but there will be a meeting this week that might establish the groundwork for a transportation program that serves North, South and Central Frontenac.
Although Rural Routes operates the only fully constituted dispatch service in the County, it is by no means the only provider of transportation. Rural Visions, South Frontenac’s community services agency, provides transportation for seniors and children, and the Canadian Cancer Society as well as the Kidney Foundation arranges transportation for the people they serve.
A meeting will be held in Harrowsmith to bring all of these agencies together to see if there is an opening to work co-operatively towards a county-wide solution. This might satisfy one of South Frontenac Mayor Davison's concerns.
As far as his fear that transportation will be a bottomless pit which sucks up so much money that there will be none left to maintain roads for everyone to drive on, it will be up to transportation proponents and county staff to come up with controls over spending, which Mayor Davison and South Frontenac Council, can accept.
It would be folly for the county to proceed with transportation funding without the support of South Frontenac Township, which is its largest component.
Tax_rate
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Feature Article - February 28, 2008 Tax rate drops by 3% in Frontenac County budget.By Jeff GreenIf tax bills are higher in Frontenac County this year, it won’t be because of an increase in education or county taxes.
The province has maintained the same education rate for several years, and when Frontenac County councilors passed their 2008 budget in Sharbot Lake last week, they managed to trim 2.91% from the levy to the Frontenac townships.
To illustrate the impact of the budget, the owner of a property valued at $100,000 will pay $264 in education this year, and $275 in County taxes, down about $11 from 2007.
The county and education rates will be added to the local township rate to determine municipal taxes.
In completing the budget process last week, county council had only a few loose ends to clear up, and these did not have a major impact on the overall budget. The big ticket items, Fairmount Home, the Frontenac Ambulance Service, and a payment for social services costs, had already been finalized.
The thorny, complicated issue of transportation was once again a major subject of debate at this final budget meeting.
Over the past few years, the county has helped the Rural VISIONS Centre in Sydenham provide transportation for needy children and seniors through a grant of around $20,000, and a similar grant has gone to the Child Centre in Sharbot Lake. These grants came from monies that the county was mandated by the Province of Ontario to spend on projects for needy families, a mandate that is being phased out in June of this year.
In addition, last year Frontenac County supported a transportation dispatch service, Rural Routes, to the tune of $36,500, and Rural Routes requested $40,000 for 2008.
Mayors Maguire and Gutowski of North and Central Frontenac have argued vigorously in favour of ongoing funding for Rural Routes, and Mayors Davison (South Frontenac) and Vanden Hoek (Frontenac Islands) have had major reservations.
A proposal came forward that the county continue to support Rural VISIONS transportation with $17,000, and provide $37,000 to Northern Frontenac Community Services, the parent organization of both the Child Centre and the Rural Routes transportation service.
Mayor Gutowski proposed an amendment which would have increased the grant to Northern Frontenac Community Services by $20,000, but the amendment was defeated.
South Frontenac Mayor Gary Davison then proposed that the county hold $20,000 in a reserve fund, to be allocated to transportation only if a process to develop a model for a county-wide transportation service can be developed by September of this year.
This proposal was accepted.
With transportation settled, Chief Administrative Officer Liz Savill then recommended that $25,000 be put towards a video-conferencing system for senior county staff, but this was rejected by council.
Before the final vote on the budget, Mayor Maguire informed council that he would not be supporting the budget because, in an earlier budget meeting, a request for $25,000 for upgrades to the Pine Meadow Nursing home had been defeated.
This was the second time in the past three years that Maguire has voted against the budget.
The budget was approved in a vote of 3-1.
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Feature Article - May 1, 2008 North Frontenac Council: Apr 24/08By Jeff GreenStrategic planning offer
Ron Higgins, a consultant who has a company called the Wren Group, is offering his services for economic strategic planning in North Frontenac. Wren has done work for customers as diverse as the Ottawa Senators and Ontario Power Generation,
The normal fee for the sessions he is proposing would be about $3,600, but as the founding president of the Malcolm Lake Association, Higgins is offering to forego his fee if the township will instead provide some support in areas such as septic monitoring, water testing, fish management and liability insurance for the newly-formed association.
In a presentation he made at a North Frontenac Council meeting last Thursday, April 24, Higgins described a process whereby he would actively solicit public comment on the kinds of business and commercial activity that would likely succeed in North Frontenac before conducting a one-day planning session that would include council, staff and key stakeholders.
The ultimate goal would be to try and find a way to address the lack of commercial activity in the township, which has led not only to a dearth of local employment, but also a tax base that is skewed overwhelmingly towards residential assessment.
In response to Higgins’ proposal, Mayor Ron Maguire first pointed to something he championed in his first term of office: bringing seasonal residents into the mainstream of township life.
“There are two things to discuss in this particular instance. The first is the economic development planning proposal itself, and the other is the trade off,” Maguire said. “It almost seems like this has been studied to death. At the same time we haven’t come up with something unique to North Frontenac yet. There are some possible benefits to be achieved by going to the First Nations with this, so we could look at it from a different perspective. I would want to make sure they would be among the principal stakeholders, at least.”
“Things have been studied, but never with broad public input,” Higgins replied.
“I think this might fit in with some of the other planning we are involved with,” said township CAO Cheryl Robson.
“Perhaps the department heads can look at this and bring a report back,” Maguire said, “and we can handle the trade off you are looking for once the report comes back.”
Big Gull Lake Access – David Pattendon, an island cottager on Big Gull Lake, brought a request to council that came about after two years of work by a group of 12 island property owners on the west end of the lake.
When two marinas on the lake closed, the cottagers were left with no place to dock their boats and park their cars, and they have been negotiating with the Ministry of Natural Resources to obtain permission to build 12 docks near a public boat access that MNR owns on the lake. This process is nearly complete, and Pattendon came to council to seek the use of two small pieces of land on the township-owned shoreline so the islanders can pass from their parking lot to the docks they are going to construct.
“We would like to get this in place before the summer season, as you can well understand,” Pattendon said. “We realise that the township is not in the dock business, and we have assumed all costs related to this from the start.”
There is an added urgency to the situation, David Pattendon explained, since one of the people involved is 97 years old and still goes to his cottage, with the help of his 70-year-old son.
“For someone who is that age, this is a pretty important summer,” Pattendon said.
A draft agreement has been prepared, and staff will determine if surveys are needed before bringing the agreement back to council.
Rural Routes Revisited (funding denied again) – the Rural Routes transportation service is nothing if not persistent. Six weeks after North Frontenac Council turned down a request for $7,000 to help the program get through 2008, a new request was sent to North Frontenac Council, along with a copy of the agency’s 2008 budget.
Deputy Mayor Jim Beam urged the township to reconsider its decision to deny funding to Rural Routes.
“We have stated that funding for Rural Routes is something that the county should be doing. I believe the Mayor of Central Frontenac supported that idea, but there they are (Central Frontenac) putting in $15,000. I don't want to be seen as cutting off our nose to spite our face. I would hate to see the program go under because we are making a point to the county,” Beam said.
Councillor Fred Perry proposed that North Frontenac approve the request, and then demand the $7,000 back from the county in September, once the county completes a transportation study they have undertaken. The county has put $20,000 aside to go towards transportation once that study is completed.
“The transportation study is going to be much broader than that,” said Mayor Maguire. “We have no idea what it is going to come up with. I think it's a dangerous precedent for us to be pouring taxpayers’ money into social programming. It's the same reason why I don't think we should fund Pine Meadow. These things are county responsibilities.”
Maguire fought for funding for both Rural Routes and the Pine Meadow Nursing Home during county budget deliberations this past winter, eventually voting against the budget because a request for $25,000 towards renovations at the home had been rejected by the other members of county council.
“Besides, what force do we have with the county by doing this?” Maguire asked.
In the end, Maguire's argument won the day. Even though several councilors voiced support for Rural Routes, Councilors Watkins, Good, and Cole sided with the mayor and the request was defeated in a 4-3 vote.
Transportation
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Feature Article - September 25, 2008 Transportation plan hits a snag By Jeff GreenFor the past four months a dedicated group of service providers with an interest in developing a transportation system for Frontenac County has been meeting with consultant Rob Wood in an attempt to put together a comprehensive plan for transportation in the county.
Rural Routes, a program of Northern Frontenac Community Services, and the transportation program of the Rural VISIONS Centre in Sydenham, both co-ordinate volunteer drivers to help get children, seniors, and people who receive social assistance to medical services, daycare, and other appointments.
Other agencies such as Community Living – North Frontenac, the South East Ontario Integrated Health Network, the Victorian Order of Nurses and even Land O’Lakes Community Services from Addington Highlands have been involved as well, as has Frontenac County, in trying to put together a comprehensive, efficient service.
“We have made great progress working to find the best way to bring all the interests together to develop a county-wide plan,” said Rob Wood, the consultant who was hired by Frontenac County to help develop a co-ordinated service.
The County of Frontenac has provided administrative funding for Rural Routes this year and last, and has funded rides for both Rural VISIONS and the Child Centre in Sharbot Lake for several years. The county wanted to see that there were no overlaps between services and that a level of co-operation between agencies be fostered before committing to funding the system for future years.
They were also considering seeking provincial funds to augment the service.
Rob Wood said that everything was moving forward, and the boards of both Rural VISIONS and Northern Frontenac Community Services had made commitments to collaborate on transportation, and a funding model was being developed.
Then he found out that the provincial funds were not going to be available.
“The money we were seeking was from gas tax rebate funds that are earmarked for municipal transportation by the Province of Ontario, and in August I found out that only fully accessible vehicles were eligible for support. All of the agencies in Frontenac County use volunteer drivers, who don’t have fully accessible vehicles, so we won’t be eligible for funding,” Wood said in a phone interview this week, “so we will have to go back to work on the funding.”
A preliminary presentation went to a joint meeting of Frontenac County last week, and a final plan, including funding requirements, is expected to be ready by the County Council meeting on October 15.
Frontenac County Council - Nov. 24/11
County resolves governance issue
Frontenac County Council has ended an 18-month-long process by selecting a new governance model.
An eight-member council, with the mayor of South Frontenac carrying two votes, will be in place after municipal elections next November, pending ratification of the proposal by lower-tier councils in the county.
Currently there are four members of Frontenac County Council - the four Frontenac townships (North, South, Central, and Frontenac Islands), and each township will be adding an additional member after the municipal election next November.
The extra councilors will be chosen by the member councils for a four-year term
By allocating two votes to the mayor of South Frontenac there will be nine votes on the council, ensuring majority votes on contentious issues and providing extra weight to South Frontenac, whose ratepayers contribute 58% of municipally derived funds to the county budget.
The proposal is similar to ones that have been put forward by the member councils, although the specifics of the weighted vote provision was put into the final proposal by Central Frontenac Mayor Janet Gutowski.
Gutowski's one-year term as county warden ended after the November 18 meeting at which the council made the governance decision that had been lingering on their agenda for over a year.
“There is a clear indication that there needs to be change,” Gutowski said in framing the final debate. “We've got some very weighty issues at the county table. I think the discussion can be deepened, and I do feel it can be enhanced by adding new bodies. The job is getting bigger and we need more hands on deck.”
Although she said she is not completely comfortable with the second township representative being selected by the councils rather than by an election by the entire electorate, as the mayor is, “I am prepared to let the townships make that selection,” she said.
Gutowski's insistence that the extra vote for South Frontenac be held by the mayor reflects her concern about representation. “I think the directly elected representatives must have a majority of the votes on the council,” she said.
Frontenac Islands Mayor Jim Vanden Hoek, who initiated the debate about governance during his second term as county warden in 2008, was reluctant to support the change.
“Can we get a sense of how much it will cost to add four more members, in terms of salary, staff time, everything? Will it require an extra staff position?” he asked.
After taking a short break to consider that question, County Treasurer Marion VanBruinessen said the cost would be around $70,000 per year. She began to break down the estimated figures, noting that the salary for a councilor is $7,000.
Then Vanden Hoek said, “We don't need the detail. If it is $70,000, that's quite a bit of money. If you agree to this, the eight or nine-person council will be around for a long time. There may be an interim step. I'm going to suggest a couple of things for a term that would avoid us spending the $70,000. What if we transfer any net surpluses at the end of the year back to the townships on a pro-rated basis? That would put the county and the townships on the same operating level as the city and the health unit. We may also turn around and establish a finance committee, with township representation, that works with the county on the budget.”
“You are putting a new proposal on the table at 2 in the afternoon [the Council meeting had started at 10 am with a two hour in camera session] after we have discussed this for 12 months,” Warden Gutowski replied.
“We are dealing in apples and oranges,” added North Frontenac Deputy Mayor Jim Beam, sitting in for Mayor Ron Maguire, “if you want to take back the surpluses, I don't think that will satisfy the desire for more input from the townships.”
“There has been a lot of discussion and it is time for a vote,” said Warden Gutowski. “There is one proposal on the table.”
Neither Mayors Vanden Hoek nor Davison would move or second a motion based on Gutowski's proposal, forcing her to relinquish her chair in order to make a motion, which was seconded by Jim Beam.
The motion was approved by a 4 – 0 vote.
A bylaw was passed later in the meeting, and the proposal will go to a public meeting on November 30 at the Sydenham Town Hall.
In order to come into effect in time for the 2010 municipal election, it will need to be ratified by at least three of the four member councils, representing at least 50% of the population, by the end of the year.
Because South Frontenac has 58% of the population, the change must be ratified by their council and at least two others.
County still uneasy with transportation plan
Frontenac County Council continued to express concerns about a proposal to establish an independent not-for-profit corporation for transportation in South, Central and North Frontenac townships.
Susan Leslie, the CEO of Northern Frontenac Community Services (NFCS) and Deborah Andrews, CEO of Southern Frontenac Community Services (SFCS) along with Jane Drew, the Manager of Rural Routes and Dean Walsh from Community Living-North Frontenac, came to Frontenac County Council last week to answer questions about a business plan they have submitted.
The plan calls for Rural Routes, which is currently a project of NFCS, to become an independent corporation that will co-ordinate rides to medical appointments and other services throughout mainland Frontenac County for needy clients of SFCS, NFCS, and others.
The plan calls for Frontenac County to provide $80,000 each year towards transportation. Of that money, Rural Routes would receive $45,000 towards its administrative budget, and each of the agencies would receive $17,500 to help pay for rides.
Rural Routes will have driven about 400,000 kilometres in 2009, mostly for NFCS clients, and SFCS will have arranged for 100,000 kilometres in rides for its own clients.
The Rural Routes business plan envisions revenue of $244,000 per year from fees charged to customers, along with the $80,000 in county money and $15,000 in fundraising dollars.
Most of the clients' fees are funded by external agencies, such as Ontario Works, the Ontario Disability Support Program, Children's Aid, and fundraising by the two agencies.
In introducing the plan, Deborah Andrews mentioned some of the clients that use the transportation service her agency provides. “We received a call recently from the hospital in Kingston, about a young mom who was being discharged with a new baby and had no transportation home. Another couple had lost their house, but were able to secure work and needed help getting there,” she said.
Susan Leslie attempted to reassure council that Rural Routes does not intend to fold itself into county operations. “My key point is this is not a request for the county to become a transportation provider. We are asking for the county to support transportation, not provide it. As well, almost half the money we are asking for from the county is for rides we cannot subsidize in any other way,” she said.
“I've been lukewarm about transportation in rural areas. I've always had difficulties with it. I'm probably still lukewarm, but first I want to give credit for the work you have done to bring your agencies together on this, and to the volunteers who provide the service,” said Frontenac Islands Mayor Vanden Hoek. “I want to go back to something you’ve heard before. There is a significant risk to the county going forward. One of the risks is the volunteer model. The cost would double if there were no volunteers.”
Vanden Hoek also expressed a concern about the potential to ramp up demand by offering subsidy, creating a programme that costs more and more to operate, eventually costing the county more money.
“I would be more comfortable if you had a sustainable business plan,” he said.
South Frontenac Mayor Gary Davison said, “The only thing I hear from you is about efficiencies in dispatch by setting this up, but nothing about making sure there are savings on the ground. I too have fears about the cost. I commend you people but this is not an open chequebook.”
North Frontenac Deputy Mayor Jim Beam said, “Thank you very much for the plan. You were asked to do this and you did. You asked the county for support and I think you should get it.”
Warden Janet Gutowski said, “I look at the business plan and I see there is a lot that is not spoken of in it. There is a lot that is not clarified, but I think we should go forward and open the door on this. It is a recognised need in the county.”
Later in their meeting, county council received the first of the budget estimates for 2010. Included among them is $80,000 under the heading “Grants to service providers” that is earmarked for Rural Routes.
The budget estimates will all be on the county agenda for approval in the new year.
