Anybody wanna buy a (government) dock . . . or two?

Craig Bakay | Jun 02, 2021

Central Frontenac Council finished all the business on its agenda in less than an hour (59 minutes) at its regular (online) meeting Tuesday.

There really wasn’t anything terribly controversial to be discussed but perhaps one item could have lasting effects in the near future.

For years, there have been rumblings that the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans want to divest itself of its recreationally-oriented docks and it looks like this time, they may actually be going ahead with plans.

The facilities in question in Central Frontenac are the government docks in Sharbot Lake and Crow Lake.

The two sites are currently leased from Fisheries and Oceans on a current lease that was renewed in 2019 and expires March 31,2025. The lease also allows dry hydrant installations at these sites.

Now, both facilities are in need of repair and remediation and Township staff met with ministry representatives in March to discuss repair options to the docks and launch areas as safety and infrastructure integrity issues had been noted by staff at both sides.

In a report to Council, Dep. Clerk Cindy Deachman said: “At this meeting, staff learned that there would likely be a cost sharing opportunity to address the immediate safety concerns.

“We also discussed the possibility of divestiture of these assets since the ministry has changed its focus away from recreational harbours and plans to begin divesting itself of its small harbour assets in the coming years.”

She said that short term work can and will be done to address the safety issues while we explore the divestiture process.

“While this process can take some time (anticipated to be several years), Fisheries and Oceans can take initial steps along this process such as seeking an appraisal and commencing the consultations with the Algonquins,” she said.

She said they plan to meet again with the area manager to discuss the findings of the site visit, review plans and specs, and further divestiture options.

“DFO is still going to want to use it for their work on the lakes,” said Coun. Brent Cameron. “Do we have any indication of the standards they’d expect if we did take it over?

“Remember the specifications that came with us assuming Hwy 38.”

“We’ll need another report,” said Mayor Frances Smith. “We don’t want to take it over until we know costs.”

Coun. Bill MacDonald suggested another aspect that should be added to the negotiations is what to do when water management causes levels to drop to the point the dock can’t be used, such as what happened in Crow Lake a couple of years ago. Water levels haven’t been an issue at the Sharbot Lake site.

• • •

Fire Chief Jamie Riddell’s report had a lot to do with how pleased everybody was with the new Tank/Pumper for Station 4 (Parham) and how it would reduce the number of trips required from Stations 2 (Mountain Grove) and 3 (Sharbot Lake).

He also noted that medical calls were down and three fines in April totalled $6,580 and there was one property negligence fine totalling $11,724.59.

“Some of the fines are a result of the new bylaw,” he said. “Some are for call-backs but one was for gross negligence on the part of the homeowner so we can go back for cost recovery.”

• • •

Council awarded the 2021 custodial contract for Oso District (which includes Oso Hall, the municipal offices, the library and Medical Centre) to Clean Sweep Cleaning Services (who also does Hinchinbrooke currently) in the amount of $27,980 excluding HST. The 2020 contract was for $20,633.76.

“It works out to about $55 per cleaning,” said Mayor Frances Smith. “We need to get back to getting revenue from our facilities so we can pay for the cleaning.”

• • •

Coun. Victor Heese was curious about a payment to the Frontenac Arena Board of $298,000.

Treasurer Michael McGovern explained that the payment was “an advance to the Arena until they get some revenue . . . (and) we have applied for grant funding.”

And Coun. Brent Cameron, in his capacity as Arena Board Chair, used the opportunity to give an Arena update.

“The cement has been poured for a new pad and we’re confident for a September opening,” Cameron said.