Frontenac County CAO Kelly Pender to step down 'Before Golf Season' next year

Jeff Green | Nov 23, 2023

When Frontenac County Council came out of their in-camera session at the start of their monthly meeting last week (November 15) there was a short report concerning the fact that Council had agreed to hire a consultant to aid in the hiring of a new Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) to lead the county administration.

Since the incumbent in the job, Kelly Pender, was still sitting next to Warden Ron Vandewal as he made the report, it was clear that he had not been fired.

At the same time, an email from the communications department confirmed that once the recruitment drive for a new CAO is complete and a starting date for a replacement is confirmed, Pender will announce his formal retirement date.

Pender told staff that “it just seems like the right time to explore some new challenges and to pass the reins to a new leader.”

The timing of Pender's leaving also reflects the fact that the new council is now a year into their mandate, and the construction project at what Pender has dubbed the “Frontenac County Campus” on Battersea Road is just about complete. Another major Frontenac County initiative with regional implications, the formation of an arms length communal servicing corporation, is now well into the implementation phase.

While Pender said he is not planning to make any further comment on the matter of his retirement until a new person is hired, that did not stop members of council from commenting later in the meeting.

It started with Warden Ron Vandewal, who said he doesn't like to get personal at meetings because he gets emotional, and got emotional immediately, saying, “as we all know Kelly Pender is resigning as CAO, and it's our loss, it really is.”

He went on to talk about an aspect of the CAO job that is only seen by county politicians, during the 12 months each term when they serve as warden.

“I have not gone to a meeting where he has not provided me with everything that I either needed to know or needed to say. He picks me up, he drops me off, he takes care of me. Couldn't ask for a better person.

Deputy Warden Frances Smith, who has served as Warden with Pender on two occasions, said “I thought it was just me that you were being Mister Chauffeur for, but it is true, there are not a lot of CAOs that are that courteous and that thoughtful to their wardens, many of them want to go in the opposite direction, not be there for us, but 100% your shoes are going to be very difficult to fill.”

“Usually after a eulogy there are egg salad sandwiches and warm ginger ale” said Pender in response.

While the public perception, certainly from a reporter's perspective, of the CAO is as the leader of the county administration, and the person who connects the local municipality with other municipalities and upper levels of government. The role that Kelly Pender played in support of the warden came into focus early in his tenure as CAO of Frontenac County, with the sudden illness and subsequent death of Warden Bud Clayton in 2014, just months after Pender came to work in Frontenac County.

The two were attending an Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference in London on behalf of Frontenac County, when Clayton took ill and was rushed to hospital, where he died two weeks later. Kelly Pender remained with him in hospital until Clayton's wife Jackie arrived.

Before coming to Frontenac County, Pender served as Chief Administrative Officer in Huntsville, where he oversaw a major infrastructure initiative in advance of the 2010 G8 summit. Before taking on the top job in Huntsville, he was CAO in the Town of Perth. One of the reasons for his move to Frontenac County was to return to Kingston, where he went to University, after growing up in Belleville.

Other items from Frontenac County Council

Wolfe Islanders seek return of ambulance service

A delegation including Dr. Andrew McCallum and Hugh Cowan came to Council in support of a report submitted by the Wolfe Island EMS committee.

Dr. McCallum, a Wolfe Island resident who headed the Ornge air ambulance service in Ontario before retiring, said that because there are no longer any paramedics based in Wolfe Island, it is impossible for paramedics to arrive within the target for wither a high priority emergency or a cardiac event, and said it is only a matter of time before this results in a patient death on the Island, as a result.

He said the Wolfe Island EMS group is committed to working with council to re-establish a 24 hour service on the island.

In 2022, after not being able to staff the Wolfe Island service for over a year, because of staffing challenges, Frontenac Paramedic Services cancelled the service, in order to focus on a growing caseload in the City of Kingston. High priority EMS calls to the Island result in the immediate return of the Wolfe Island Ferry to the dock in Kingston to bring an ambulance and crew to the island. The crossing takes 20 minutes. The ferry does not run 24 hours, however, and overnight response is even more seriously compromised as a result.

The presenters pointed out that there is a 24 hour ambulance stationed on Toronto Island, which has a population of 650, whereas 1400 people live on Wolfe Island.

Budget trimmed to 2.99%

Treasurer Alex Lemieux brought a report to Council based upon budget deliberations earlier in the month. The increase in taxation is set to the slimmest amount under 3%, and the budget will return to Council for formal adoption at the August meeting.

Wine and Cheese

A wine and cheese party at the Storrington Centre in South Frontenac on November 29th will mark the end of Ron Vandewal's third stint as warden. Central Frontenac Mayor Frances Smith is set to take on the role, the fourth time for her, for 2024.

Smith will be the first woman to serve as warden on four occasions, and only the second person to serve more than three years in the role