New quarry could produce 500,000 tonnes of aggregate per year in CF

Craig Bakay | Feb 16, 2022

The notification process started Nov. 22, 2021 and the last day to provide objections was Jan. 22, 2022 for the proposed Robinson Pit and Quarry at 12795 Road 38, Tichborne, Mark Priddle of McIntosh Perry Consulting Engineers told Central Frontenac Council at its regular (online) meeting Feb. 8.

“The applicant is addressing comments at this stage,” Priddle said. The new quarry is on the site of the Climie Pit, which currently yields only overburden, Priddle said. The new operation will allow for blasting and quarrying to reach aggregates down about 65 feet, or below the waterline.

“The application is for a maximum of 500,000 tonnes per year and it will end up as a pond one day,” he said. “A big part of the approval process is a rehabilitation plan.”

He said the location of the quarry should result in fewer truck trips through Sharbot Lake as many construction projects using aggregates that are south of the hamlet access quarries north of Sharbot Lake.

“At this point, the location is zoned as a pit,” said Mayor Frances Smith.

Kingston Film Office

“This is more of an update than an ask,” Alex Jansen of the Kingston Film Office told Council. “There was an estimated $5,000,000 in Direct Economic Spending with a significant increase in major productions.

“(However), there was a notable decrease in small/local production due to covid.”

Major productions filmed in the area in 2021 included All-Around Champion: Season 3 (TVO), Reacher (Amazon), Murdock Mysteries (CBC), Mayor of Kingstown (Paramount), Pop Whiz (Game TV), The Lost Symbol (NBC Universal) and Code 8: Part 2 (Netflix).

In addition, there was a lot of locations photography including scout support in places like Bon Echo Park as well as a CBC documentary shot at Hinchinbrooke Public School and the “Verona” feature shot which was used as a case study including a $10,000 contribution on a $200,000 budget, production mentorship and resourcing, placements and internships, location management support and covid safety and testing support.

There is also the upcoming Salvage Kings and Insight Productions in 2022.

The Kingston Film Office is incorporated as a not-for-profit and has been running for four years.

“As Toronto and even Hamilton start to price themselves out of the market, South Eastern Ontario starts to look more attractive to production companies,” he said.

Coun. Bill MacDonald quipped: “Sharbot Lake would be a natural for this sort of thing because of all the members of the Hollywood family here.”

Building Permits

Hinchinbrooke (District 4) led all districts in construction in 2021 with $5,795,586 on 55 building permits, according to a report by CBO Andy Dillon. Kennebec (District 2) was second with $5,090944 on 42 permits, Oso (District 3) was third with $3,732,831 on 41 permits and Olden (District 2) was fourth with $3,072,831 on 41 permits.

In total, there was $17,691,551 in construction on 169 building permits.

Open House

Central Frontenac plans to hold a virtual open house Feb. 17 at 4 p.m. on the former Sharbot Lake Public School property’s proposed communal services feasibility study for a seniors housing complex.

Building Fees

Council passed CBO Andy Dillon’s recommendation to index the fees increase on Schedule C to the October CPI (4.4 per cent) rather than the non-residential building construction cost index (13.6 per cent).

“In other words, let’s not do 13.8 per cent, let’s be more reasonable at 4.4 per cent,” said Mayor Frances Smith.

Septic Fees

Council decided to hold building permit fees for septic systems at their current levels.

“It makes sense again,” said Mayor Frances Smith. “People will have a hard enough time recovering from covid so if we can help them out, why not.”

Fire Master Plan

Coun. Brent Cameron told Council that he wanted to make it clear that at the previous meeting when he held up a draft fire master plan, “It wasn’t my intention to imply that we already had a plan. My concern was that we didn’t start over at Square 1.”