Central Frontenac Council – Dec 11/12

Dec 13, 2012

Parham Fair in dire straits - seeking new members to keep it afloat

It was with great sadness that John Waddingham, who recently resigned as the president of the Parham Agricultural Society, the organization that sponsors and runs the annual Parham Fair, brought the “dire situation” concerning the fate of the 120-year-old fair to council’s attention this week.

The society has recently lost a number of board and executive members, many of whom are elderly and have been running the fair for upwards of 25 years. “I apologize to all of the citizens of Central Frontenac, Waddingham said, “but the situation is now dire and unless we see people step up before our next annual general meeting on January 15, 2013, I see no way that the fair can continue”

He was visibly distressed about the situation.

“We have advertised and sent out letters asking for new members for a long time now and with very little response, we see no other alternative. It's an impossible situation.”

The positions of president and treasurer, as well as the coordinators of poultry, palace, fair grounds, marketing and fundraising need to be filled. He said that he and other former members of the society would be more than happy to train new members interested in taking over the vacancies. Anyone interested can contact him at 613-374-2728 or by email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

MIII grant for Wagarville Road and bridge updates

Public Works Manager Mike Richardson asked for council’s approval to proceed with an application for $2 million in grant money that is being made available for infrastructure projects. Richardson said that if the application is successful, the grant would cover 90% of the estimated $2 million cost to pave the 7.5 km long Wagarville Road, which runs from Parham towards Tamworth and ends at McLean Road, and to repair/replace the Wagarville Road bridge. Studies, drawings and plans are in place to proceed with the project. Council gave its approval

IT department opts for Laserfiche RIO

Though it was not the lowest bid for an electronic document records management system (ERDMS), Charlene Godfrey got approval from council to acquire a Laserfic RIO system at a cost of $30,169 from MC Imaging Technologies. She said that the system offers the best value of the four RFPs that came in and will allow the IT department of the municipality to incorporate a single classification file system that will manage all electronic and paper documents in accordance with various government acts and will promote a more transparent government.

Relocation of “Fire House” Program deferred

Deputy Fire Chief Art Cowdy made a presentation to council recommending that the township accept a proposal from the fire department to contract North Frontenac Telephone Company (NFTC) to provide data management and storage services for the department. Cowdy said NFTC would help fire fighters access computers by giving them a single step data entry so that multiple fire fighters from various stations in the township could enter data simultaneously.

Charlene Godfrey said that the township's IT department was “uncomfortable not being in charge of their own data” and the township should opt for keeping the system in house.

Mayor Gutowski said that she appreciated the frustration of the fire fighters who have been asking for an improved system for a time and was disappointed to see two opposing reports regarding the topic from staff.

After further discussion the motion to go with NFTC was deferred until more information could be brought forward from staff at the next council meeting in January.

MPAC assessment shows Sharbot Lake Provincial Park devalued by 60%

Treasurer Michael McGovern brought to council's attention a report regarding the MNR Provincial Parks Assessment Loss. The report shows a devaluation in the MPAC assessment of Sharbot Lake Provincial Park from $1,255,000 to $449,000, a drop of $806,000. The devaluation results in a net loss to the municipality of $3,989 based on the 2012 tax rate. Councilor Purdon said he was curious as to why so many other parks saw an increase in value. Norm Guntensperger suggested that MPAC be made accountable and suggested that a letter be sent asking them to explain the numbers.