Train whistle still bothering Crow Lake Village resident

Craig Bakay | Jan 24, 2018

The trains keep on rollin’, the whistles keep on blowin’ and Crow Lake Village resident Donald Lafleur hasn’t given up his battle to at least cut down on the whistle-blowing part.

Lafleur was at Central Frontenac Council’s regular meeting Tuesday evening in Sharbot Lake to reiterate his request, as well as summarizing his bureaucratic adventures in seeking relief which includes a lengthy record of emails with various people at Transport Canada.

In December of 2016, Lafleur came to Central Frontenac Council asking for relief from the train whistles each time the train passes a crossing. He presented various documentation including Transport Canada’s procedure for whistling cessation, an eight-step process which includes the municipality making a request for cessation.

At the May 23, 2017 meeting of Central Frontenac Council, the following resolution was passed: “That the Council for the Township of Central Frontenac has reviewed all correspondence regarding the Train Whistle Cessation and based on costs and legal advice received, Council has elected not to proceed with the request.”

Lafleur said the issue was at least worth another look.

“Every time a train goes by, it whistles four times at each crossing,” Lafleur said. “There’s a crossing at each end of the hamlet plus we hear it from other crossings as far away as Tichborne.

“Some of them may not be as loud as when it comes through Crow Lake but each time we hear 24 whistles.”

He said he has confirmed that the trains in question are Canadian Pacific trains.

He said he and his partner took a train trip from Kingston to Toronto recently and “I would say more than half of the crossings didn’t have whistles.

“We’d be more than happy to do whatever is necessary to assist Council in this matter.’

Council passed a motion to receive Lafleur’s presentation.

Planner, for now
While Mayor Frances Smith recommended to Council they accept Frontenac County’s proposal to hire another planner “for the time being,” she also suggested there was still plenty of negotiation required before signing on for the long term.

At the Jan. 17 meeting, Frontenac County Council authorized the addition of a senior planner position, the reasoning being the increased workload the County planning department faces doing planning for North and Central Frontenac and the Frontenac Islands.

“There’s a three-year phase-in where our (Central Frontenac’s) costs would be $39,000 a year,” Smith said. “If that gets up around $60,000 a year, [which is slated to be the case in 2012 according to county staff calculations] then it might be more feasible for us to look at hiring consultants or to join with North Frontenac for planning.”

Clerk administrator Cathy MacMunn said the matter is scheduled for discussion at the next CAOs’ meeting and suggested North has similar feelings on the matter, a suggestion that surfaced at North Frontenac’s last Council meeting.

Changes to tax sale policy
As of Jan. 1, 2019, procedures regarding the tax sale process with the process beginning after properties fall into the two-year arrears category as opposed to the current three-year position. Treasurer Michael McGovern received Council’s permission to notify residents of the changes in their tax bills.

Coun. Brent Cameron expressed concern that “this catch some people off guard” because the three year window has been around a long time.

McGovern said the changes will mean he will have “about 100 more cases” than he regularly deals with because of the changes and he’s considering informing those people on coloured paper.

No plans yet for new council member
Council didn’t address the Council vacancy that opened up with the resignation of Jamie Riddell but Smith said it was scheduled for discussion at the next meeting (Feb. 8).

Eagle Lake pilot for septic program
The septic re-inspection committee announced that the 300 properties on Eagle Lake have been slated for its “pilot project.”