Busy meeting for Central Frontenac Public Works Department

Craig Bakay | Apr 11, 2018

Public Works Manager Brad Thake had a fairly extensive written agenda at Tuesday’s regular Central Frontenac Council meeting but he also had quite a number of verbal reports as well.

He received approval from council to spend $379,672 on a new, variable horsepower grader, plow and wing (it is in the budget) to replace a 27-year-old model that is well past it’s useful life.

Thake then presented his policy on nuisance beaver and beaver dams. Beavers and their dams are only a concern for the township in cases where beaver activity has an impact on township assets (roads, bridges, culverts) and the township uses tubular culvert protectors and other “beaver baffler” techniques, but when those are not effective the policy is to remove beavers first, and the dams after that. Frontenac Addington Trapper’s Council members provide trapping services for the township on an as needed basis, at an average cost of $15,000 per year.

Thake also announced that the Crow Lake construction project is “getting to the final stages.”

He said the final costs should be in the neighbourhood of $100,00 - 150,000 but he wanted to have a public meeting o May 23 from 7-9 at Oso Hall. He said he didn’t think the schoolhouse in Crow Lake would be big enough.

“We have a couple of different traffic calming measures we’d like to get feedback on,” he said.

Then Thake announced a plan to spray for parsnip along the 38-509 corridor in conjunction with North Frontenac to save on costs.

Council approved the idea in principle but before any spraying starts, it’ll have to come back to Council.

“I hate parsnip too but we need to know what we’re spraying,” said Mayor Frances Smith.

Finally, Thake told Council he’d been contacted by MTO concerning work on turning lanes at the junction of Hwy 7 and Road 38 that’s been triggered by new Ultramar gas bar.

Delegations
Council heard presentations from Frontenac County on Economic Development and The Health Unit on a variety of topics. It also heard a presentation from the Friends of Arden on replacement of the footbridge in Arden Park. Council reiterated its support for the project — promising to help where it could.

Dep. Mayor Tom Dewey said he’d like to see accommodation for wheelchairs on the bridge as well as on other projects including the new washrooms at the ball park in Sharbot Lake and government docks.

Clerk Cathy MacMunn said she’d contact Jannette Amini at the County for guidance on this.

Mystery train ...
Mayor Frances Smith said she’d been contacted by VIA telling her that they’ve received $8 million for a study into a rail system in our area.

So you want to run for council
For those thinking of running for municipal Council this fall, applications are now available at the Township Office in Sharbot Lake.

Also, there will be an information session April 30 at 7 p.m. in Oso Hall entitled “So You Want to Run . . .”

OP
There will be a special Council meeting in Oso Hall at 4 p.m. on changes to the new Official Plan.

Building bust
Construction values in Central Frontenac as of the end of March 2018 are down considerably from the past two years at $171,857, despite there being a lot more permits issued than in previous years (18). At this point in 2017, 5 permits for $434,000 in construction value had been purchased, and by the end of March in 2016 five permits for $448,000 in construction value had been purchasedm