A K&P Trail motorised user fee system is in the works, slowly

Jeff Green | Jan 26, 2022

Frontenac County does not charge user fees on The K&P trail, which has been built over a 10 year period, mostly through a variety of trail construction grants.

The trail is not available to motorised vehicles south of Verona, except seasonally by snowmobiles.

But north of Verona, through Central Frontenac and into North Frontenac where the trail is being built out this year, ATV use is prevalent. The K&P is part of a network of trails extending to Lanark, Renfrew, Lennox and Addington and Hastings Counties, and the networks are managed by two ATV trail user groups, the OFATV (Ontario Federation of ATV clubs) and the EOTA (Eastern Ontario Trails Alliance)

Both of these organisations have historical connections to the K&P. EOTA has been contracted to do maintenance on the K&P trail, and the OFATV has an active chapter based in Verona.

They each have their own trail pass systems for use on trails connect to the K&P trail, but those passes are not transferable.

Last September Frontenac County Council asked Wayne Robinson of Sharbot Lake to help put together a plan for ATV use of the K&P trail, with view towards developing a user pay system that is compatible with neighboring trail systems.

Robinson has a history with the K&P Trail. The company that he used to own, the Robinson Group, donated $25,000 to the construction of the trail, and he also volunteered to help the county obtain passage through a number of properties between Tichborne and Sharbot Lake that had been sold off by previous owners of the K&P rail bed that has been developed as the K&P Trail.

Robinson sent a short status report to Frontenac County this month, which was received by Frontenac County Council at their January meeting (January 19)

Before preparing the short report, he consulted with stakeholders, including the Frontenac County Mayors, and with OFATV and EOTA, and came to the conclusion that riders of motorised vehicles, including snowmobiles, should be required to pay for a trail pass in order to ride on the K&P trail.

This is the case on County owned trails in Lanark County and is being considered in Renfrew County as well. The situation is relatively simple for snowmobiles because snowmobilers who use public trails are required to join the OFSC (Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs) but not as simple for ATV's because there are two different organisations who are involved in trail management.

The key paragraphs in Robinson's report deal with a permit requirement that is tied to a change in the way EOTA and the OFATV deal with permits. They are, as follows: “It is my recommendation that the County of Frontenac pass a motion that trail permits are required for all motorized vehicles using the K & P and in turn instruct staff to prepare a comprehensive bylaw for approval by Council. The OFATV and the EOTA already have robust membership processing systems in place so the County will not be required to implement any systems for collecting and monitoring the process.

“I further recommend that the County enter into a four-way agreement with the OFATV (represented by local clubs), the EOTA and the OFSC for a joint usage agreement for the K & P trail. As well that a joint working committee be established with representation from all four organizations to work on the long-term care and maintenance of the K & P trail system co-operatively and collaboratively.”

The key change for the two Atv organisations is captures in the phrase “joint usage agreement” which would require the two of htem to recognise each others permits for the first time.

Also, in his report, Robinson said that both EOTA and OFATV are willing to commit to supporting the K&P trail financially.

“As an offer of goodwill by the OFATV and EOTA they will contribute a minimum of $20.00 per trail permit sold to residents of Frontenac County. As well the organizations have indicated that they intend that most of the funds they raise will be spent on capital projects and other maintenance costs for their trails,” the report said.

Wayne Robinson was available during the online council meeting, but said he did not have much to add beyond what was in the report.

Councillor Bill MacDonald from Central Frontenac, who lives near a section of the K&P trail that is used by some residents to access their permanent homes, said that he “hopes the plan is to go slow on this in order to make sure that whatever is put in place is sensitive historic uses of the trail.”

Robinson said that he does not expect to see anything in place for a couple of years.

Nonetheless, in receiving the report, council directed staff to develop a bylaw by the end of June on the care and use of the trail, including the requirement for trail permits for motorised use.

Communal Servicing Public meeting

In response to a request from North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins, council agreed to hold a public meeting on the signature initiative of the Frontenac County Planning department, communal servicing.

If brought into being, communal servicing would allow for urban style development on private lots, with communal sewer and water systems instead of individual wells and septic systems.

In order to become a reality, it will require the county to set up a municipal services corporation to manage systems and to shield member municipalities from liability costs should water or sewer systems fail.

The results of a pilot study, which is looking at what can be built at the former Sharbot Lake Public School site should a communal water and sewer system be put in there, is expected in February or March.

While the idea of a public meeting was well supported by Council, the timing of the meeting is still up in the air, because of South Frontenac.

Joe Gallivan, County Director of Planning, said that until South Frontenac Council decides whether to support Communal Servicing in principle, nothing can be done.

The other three townships have already expressed their support.

Ron Higgins asked if South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal cared to indicate what the hold up is for South Frontenac.

In what could be a telling statement, Vandewal said, “maybe I should refer your question to Councillor Revill [the second representative from South Frontenac]

“I have posed some questions I have put forward to our staff before I am ready to support it,” said Revill.

For his part, Vandewal did not know whether communal servicing will come back to South Frontenac for approval in February or March.

While it may be possible for communal servicing to be set up in three of the four township's, the proposal has been developed, from the start, with all four township's in mind. The propsal has been supported by senior staff in South Frontenac, including Director of Planning, Claire Dodds, and Chief Administrative Officer Neil Carbone.