| Oct 11, 2012


by Julie Druker and Jeff Green

Council commits to consider the purchase of Hinchinbrooke PS, maybe

Central Frontenac Council heard from Sue Leslie and Bob Teal, a delegation from a group called the Central Recreation Center Committee about plans for the soon to be vacated Hinchinbrooke Public School.

The committee made two requests of council: the first to have a member of council sit on their committee and the second to support the purchasing of Hinchinbrooke Public School should a feasibility study find that the transformation of the school into a recreation centre would be beneficial and affordable to township residents.

Back in July, council supported the creation of the committee to look into the feasibility of purchasing either Hinchibrooke or Sharbot Lake public schools. A proposal was submitted to the Frontenac CFDC (Community Futures Development Corporation) for funding to conduct a feasibility study and funds to assist with plans to renovate the school.

The proposal was turned down by the FCFDC, which cited two reasons - the proposal failed to identify economic benefits for the area and the proposal was looking at both the schools instead of just one. The FCFDC were impressed, however, with the level of support for the project from various community groups. They suggested that the committee return to council.

The committee is hoping that with council's support they can resubmit the proposal to the FCFDC for the Hinchinbrooke school only before the November 1 deadline, as the Sharbot Lake Public School has numerous redevelopment issues – including some asbestos that needs to be removed.

In a report to Council, Chief Administrative Officer Shawn Trépanier pegged the cost of the school at $150,000, but Sue Leslie said might it might realistically end up being only $125,000. Councilors Heather Fox and Bill Snyder agreed to be appointed to the committee.

Trépanier said that at this point Council has committed $5,000 towards the project, money that is to be levied from the 2013 budget.

“Council has made no further financial commitment to the project,” he said.

Councilors discussed the wording of a resolution of support for the project. The resolution initially stated that council “would support” the purchasing of the school should the study prove feasible. Councilor Guntensperger was the first to say that he felt uncomfortable with that strong a commitment. “That means that even if we disagree with what the study puts forth, we are still committed to supporting the project.”

After additional discussion it was decided to amend the resolution to say that council “would consider” supporting the purchase of the school should a study prove it feasible.

The motion was carried unanimously.

Construction slow in 2012, save for new school:

The total value of construction permits in September in Central Frontenac exceeded $15 million, which is more than the combined values of 2010 and 2011 combined. That figure is somewhat misleading, however, because it is dominated by a single project, the new K-12 school in Sharbot Lake, a project that approaches $15 million on its own.

Putting the school aside, the building numbers for 2012 are slow. The number of permits sold (105) is lower than the first nine months of 2011 (140) and 2010 (149). The number of new residences (15) is higher than last year at this time (13) but lower than 2010 (18)

Chief Building Official Jeremy Neven did not know what to attribute the low levels of activity to, except to say that the building industry tends to be cyclical.

New truck for building department – CAO Trépanier presented a report to Council in which he recommends purchasing a vehicle for the use of the building department. Currently one F150 truck is shared between the facilities coordinator, IT manager, and public works manager. With this demand the vehicle is often not available, and staff end up using their own cars and being paid mileage.

Trépanier recommended purchasing a used truck for the building department, at an estimated purchase price of $14,000, with the money coming from the $150,000 in building permit purchases last month for the new school.

Township to consider a policing contract 

The township has been seeking, and finally has received from the OPP, a breakdown of policing costs for the last three years. The cost in 2010 was $671,000 and in 2011 it was just over $700,000.

Central Frontenac uses what the OPP calls status quo policing. The OPP provides the service according to their own protocols and availability of officers, and bills for the service that is provided.

The other option that is available, and CAO Trépanier recommends exploring, is a formal policing contract. South Frontenac has a policing contract in place, and in his report, Trépanier said that “several townships of a similar size to Central Frontenac have switched to policing contracts in recent years.”

Since the Sharbot Lake OPP detachment serves both North and Central Frontenac, Trépanier recommended that North Frontenac be approached to see if they are interested in pursuing a joint policing services contract if the price is right.

“There is no cost to either township to pursue a policing contract cost analysis from the OPP,” Trépanier said.

Mayor Janet Gtowksi said that since South Frontenac already has contract policing in place, they should also be approached to see if a county-wide contract might be feasible.

Council gave its approval for the CAO to make inquiries into a policing contract.

About six years ago, North Frontenac looked into a policing contract and found it was not cost effective, and about five years ago Addington Highlands switched from contract policing to status quo policing, also for cost reasons.

Office closing – all township services, including waste sites, will be closed for one day, on Thursday October 25, for a staff development exercise. Council also approved closing the office over the Christmas holidays, as has been the practice in other years, from December 24 until January 1, inclusive.

 

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