Central Frontenac Council - Aug 12/14

Jeff Green | Aug 14, 2014

Miniature horses get a 60 day stay from CF Council 

The Oso hall was packed to the rafters for the August meeting of Central Frontenac Council, not a common occurrence by any means.

The audience sat through numerous debates over whether to stop up and close road allowances and heard about the number of building permits issued last month. They even sat through the approval of the accounts and the discussion about failed tax sales and whether vesting properties is a viable option in those cases.

To their credit, no one closed their eyes through the entire first hour and a quarter of the proceedings, which is more than can be said of some members of the press, present company included.

They waited through all this because of their devotion to Tommy and Teddy, the miniature horses that are cared for by Margaret Mallory and Brian Skillen, on their property at 113 Clarke Road.

In mid-July, Mallory and Skillen were served a Notice of Contravention from the township's bylaw officer. The notice said they were in contravention of the township zoning bylaw because their 1 acre lot is less than the “minimum lot area for agricultural use”.

The trouble for Teddy and Tommy came about as the result of a complaint by one neighbour, which was enough to trigger the township bylaw, since bylaw enforcement in Central Frontenac is complaint-based.

Speaking on Mallory and Skillen's behalf, neighbours Glenys Coffin and Rebecca Kelsey asserted that Mr. Skillen is not operating a farm and that the miniature horses are not agricultural animals, but pets.

“There are a number of species of dogs that are larger than Tommy and Teddy. They are less than 3 feet tall and they weigh less than 150 pounds,” said Glenys Coffin.

Tommy and Teddy are well known around the region because Brian Skillen brings them to Legion events in Arden and Tweed, the Fun Fair at Land O'Lakes Public School, to children's parties as far away as Newburgh, to county fairs and parades, and they have even been brought into Pine Meadow Nursing Home.

A local foster family sent a letter of support, saying their three-year-old foster daughter has a terrible fear of animals, and Mr. Skillen brought his horses to their house every day for a time, until their foster child became accustomed to them and eventually began petting them and looking forward to the visits.

“She has even begun to get over her fear of other animals, thanks to Tommy and Teddy,” the letter concluded.

Faced with this, the debate among Council in response to the delegation centred on how to keep Tommy and Teddy in place while they looked for a permanent solution to the issue.

Mayor Janet Gutowski pointed out that “the Ministry of the Environment phoned the township today {August 12} expressing a concern about possible well contamination because the horses are being kept in a garage that is near the well on the property and they will be checking further on water regulations. This is just something else that Council needs to consider.”

The ministry's concern seems to stem from communication from the same complainant who made the initial complaint from the township. Mr. Skillen, who was in the audience at the meeting, said that no ministry official has visited his property thus far.

Councillor Tom Dewey proposed a motion asking staff to look into making changes to the bylaw to clarify the distinction between livestock and pets and report back to council within 60 days.

“The other thing we need to do is find a way to put a stay on the order to remove the horses from the property,” said Councillor Norm Guntensperger.

Councillor John Purdon suggested that the remedy for the problem may not involve changing the bylaw at all.

“By our definition of a hobby farm, this is not a hobby farm, and it all comes down to what we define as livestock. If we define these miniature horses as pets, we no longer have an issue,” he said.

After a break to discuss the wording of a motion, council proceeded to pass a motion asking staff to report back on the situation, including consulting with the Ministry of the Environment and the township's lawyer. They also put a stay on the order to remove the animals for 60 days. Chief Administrative Officer Larry Donaldson said that while staff will certainly be able to report back within 60 days, if it is necessary to change the bylaw it will take longer than that, because of the process that needs to be followed.

“But we can extend the stay if we have to,” said Councillor Heather Fox.

No dollar commitment necessary at this time

Council expresses interest in acquiring Hinchinbrooke Public School building

The Limestone District School Board has formally declared that the Hinchinbrooke School property is surplus and has approved the sale of the property.

Central Frontenac, on the urging of a community group called the Central Frontenac Community Recreation Centre Committee, has decided to put forward an expression of interest in the 13,870 square foot building and the 5.28 acres that surround it.

CAO Larry Donaldson said that he has contacted the board about the property.

“They are not looking for an offer to purchase right away. They will be inviting groups to come forward and will then walk everyone through the process and will share the most current information about the building and property so that when a decision is made it will be an informed one,” he said.

According to provincial regulations the board is required to offer the property first to all adjacent school boards, of which there are three, two French and one English Catholic Board, followed by post secondary institutions (St. Lawrence College, Cite College – Ottawa, Queen's University) the Ontario Infrastructure and Land Corporation, the Township of Central Frontenac, Frontenac County, and the federal government.

Speaking for the Recreation Centre Committee, Sue Leslie said there are at least a half a dozen community groups interested in using the space. They include the Parham Happy Travelers, Northern Frontenac Community Services, a local artists group, the soccer and baseball leagues, RKY camp and Community Living – North Frontenac.

“The library will also need space, and they have a policy of locating branches in community hubs, so this would be a good location.”

Members of Council asked if any of the potential users were in a position to pay rental or usage fees of any kind.

“Certainly Northern Frontenac Community Services is willing to pay for programming space, and others are aware as well, although they aren't necessarily in a position to pay a lot,” said Leslie.

She said that as far as she knew the cost of maintaining the building, which the school board has pegged at $132,000 per year, includes a full-time caretaker, which the community would not need to employ.

“There is a lot of square footage to the building,” said Councillor John Purdon, “and the library only needs about 1000 square feet of it and they are only open 6 hours a week. And the other groups will be using it only occasionally. Are you sure you have use for all that space?'

“There are lots of uses. If you build it they will come,” said Leslie, “and since we might have to limit ourselves to the main floor for public use because of accessibility requirements, we may have less space than we need.”

Councillor Frances Smith said, “To maintain it over the long term is going to be difficult, once the township owns it. The land itself is worth something to the Hinchinbrooke community, to all of us, since the fair ground, ball field and fire hall are adjacent to it. I think we should show an expression of interest for sure.”

Councillor Jeff Matson suggested that the other groups on the list should be contacted to see if any of them are interested in a joint venture.

CAO Donaldson said he would do that, and council approved a motion to let the board know they are interested in the property.

To date the township has not put any money aside for the project, nor have they made even an informal commitment to spend anything. The community group has indicated they will get involved in fund-raising for the project if necessary.