Public raises concerns over proposed Kennebec Lake Subdivision

By Julie Druker

At a public meeting on Tuesday night, June 14, 20 members of the public raised their concerns regarding an Official Plan amendment for a proposed 24-lot waterfront subdivision development on the north shore of Kennebec Lake. McIntosh Perry is the developer.

Township Planning consultant Glenn Tunnock presented his report to council, which raised two concerns. The first is that the total phosphorus (TP) concentrations are projected to increase as a result of the development. This contravenes a township policy that says that development should “maintain or improve the water quality by either maintaining or preferably reducing levels of phosphorus in lakes.” The second concern is that increased boat traffic could result in a potential increase of 75% in the level of human activity at the narrowest section of the lake.

Among concerns raised by members of the public, Grey Merriam who lives on the Salmon River downstream from Kennebec Lake, pointed out that the lake capacity assessment that McIntosh Perry presented had not been subjected to a peer review. He also said the assessment did not pay enough attention to the data that was used as input.

“The quality of the data came from an outdated 1975 model that depends on a single variable, which is the total phosphorus level in the water,” he said. “There is a whole array of additional variables, including light and aesthetic factors, which need to incorporated.”

Finally he pointed out that all waterfront development located 30 metres from the shoreline will require tertiary septic systems to fully prevent all phosphorus from entering the lake.

Lake resident Chris Sobanski had numerous concerns, particularly with the increased boat traffic that could come about. In addition to boats from the 15 waterfront lots, McIntosh Perry proposes to allow 27 square meter public dock spaces on a public waterfront lot, which owners of the nine non-waterfront lots will be able to use to keep their boats.

“I'm not against the development but another 24 boats on that narrow section of the lake will make it more busy than it already is.”

Terry Kennedy, president of the Kennebec Lake Association, made numerous recommendations, including that environmental care and protection be exercised through the application and enforcement of Site Plan control. He also said that all septic requirements should incorporate tertiary treatment and that council should be prepared to utilize additional planning tools to exercise control over all stages of development, construction and maintenance of the subdivision project.

Population/Housing Projections

Joe Gallivan from Frontenac County presented a population report to council, which predicts that the permanent resident population in Central Frontenac will be increasing over the next 25 years, and that the population will be ageing, putting pressure on housing and seniors services in the area.

The report says the permanent resident population will reach 12,000 by 2036, an increase of 2,000 from the current total, a rate of increase of 1.1% per year. Job growth is anticipated to be slow and steady. On average there will be an increase in 28 single detached housing units per year, of which 90% will be built outside of settlement areas. On average, 15 cottages will be converted to permanent homes each year. The implications to council will be more severance applications and subdivisions, a greater demand for waterfront development, a continued reliance on a seasonal economy, and more local employment opportunities.

Building Activity Summary

Although the number of building permits issued was down in May from last year (20 as compared to 23), the year-to-date total of 67 is up over the 62 issued by this time last year.

Construction values were well up in May, however - $1,199,188 in 2011 as compared to $440,000 in 2010. Year to date construction in 2011 is $3,354,463, well up from $1,679,000 by the end of May. 2010.

Septic Re-Inspection

Chief Building Official Jeremy Neven reported that council has re-engaged the Mississippi Rideau Septic System office to deliver the Voluntary Septic Maintenance inspection program for 2011, and inspections will begin with waterfront property owners on Sharbot Lake’s west basin and Eagle Lake. Council has budgeted $6,000 for the 2011 program. Additional funding in the amount of $5,000 has been applied for from Frontenac County.

By Jeff Green

Hawthorn Lane it is – In looking for a name for a private lane off of Brewer Road on Sharbot Lake in order to satisfy 911 mapping requirements, the township sent a letter to the residents on the lane suggesting Hawthorn Lane. Other names were proposed by residents and a second letter went out with the other suggestions as well as Hawthorn. The responses the next time resulted in a tie vote between Sullivan Lane and Partridge Ridge.

In their wisdom the township chose Hawthorn Lane.

“If we chose either of the other names we would have upset half the people. This way we upset everyone equally,” explained Township CAO John Duchene.

Netbooks yes, but not necessarily – Council agreed that $300 be allocated for each of them for netbooks. The goal of the project is to cut down the amount of paper the township is printing out in documents that members of council receive, which amounts to almost 60,000 pages per year in total. Documents will now be sent to each member of council through email or loaded onto a thumb drive for them. There will be a phase-in period however, as councilors acquaint themselves the netbooks. For the time being the paper versions of documents will still be available to members of council if they ask for them.

Tenders awarded – Council awarded the tender for two new Ford F550 trucks, complete with ploughs and other equipment, for $118,194 to Bence Motors.

A new backhoe will be purchased from Hartington Equipment for $138,760.

A biannual bridge inspection will be done by D. M. Willis Associates Ltd. for $6760. A ditching contract on Ardoch Road was awarded to Sanches Engineering for $7,944, and engineering services on Elizabeth Street in Sharbot Lake will be done by Jewell Engineering at a cost of $24,265.

A number of councilors thought the Ardoch Road ditching could be done in house or by a local contractor instead of an engineering consultant.

Public Works Manager Mike Richardson said that the Ardoch Road project involves “diverting a fair amount of water and we should be working with facts and figures about volumes before doing this, which is something a general contractor or our own crews don't have the expertise to calculate.”

The vote on the engineering contracts was close, with Councilors Wayne Miller, Tom Dewey and Jeff Matson voting against. Councilors Bill Snyder, Heather Fox, John Purdon and Frances Smith voted for the motion (Mayor Gutowski and Councilor Norm Guntensperger were absent from the meeting).

Beaver baffle program instituted – Mike Richardson brought a letter from Lesley Fox, from the Association for the Protection of Fur Bearing Animals, to council's attention. While Richardson did not recommend that the council pay for a beaver baffle expert from BC to fly to Ontario and show township staff how to build beaver control structures, he did say the township might consider some of these technologies.

“We could try a couple of pilot projects. The municipality is interested in beaver activity that threatens the roads. I think there is a potential program here that is not financially draining but can be beneficial to the whole municipality. I would like to go down that road, with a budget of about $2,000. Council agreed.

Henry Hogg has seen this all before.

In 2008, as Reeve of Addington Highlands and member of Lennox and Addington County Council, he had the job of convincing his colleagues on county council that it was important to maintain the ambulance services in Northbrook and Denbigh even though a consultant’s report suggested it was too expensive to operate two bases in the sparsely populated northern end of the county.

At that time, the county sided with Addington Highlands and kept the two bases in operation.

At the same time, a decision was made to integrate the entire L&A County ambulance service into the same professional model. Previously, the northern bases had been what are called ‘volunteer’ services, which pay paramedics at a lower rate. The L&A ambulance service is slated to be fully integrated by 2014, raising the projected costs of running the two northern bases.

The L&A ambulance service rents space for the Northbrook base, and they have been informed that the landlord has other plans for the building after the current lease expires at the end of this month, although the lease can be extended for a time.

To deal with this, an update to the 2008 consultant’s report was ordered, and that report was delivered to L&A County Council last week.

The update deals with a lot more issues than finding a new location for the Northbrook base. It notes that the northern bases are much more costly to operate than they were three years ago, and are even less frequently used.

“Station operating costs for both Northbrook and Denbigh have increased to $700,000 (from $465,000 in 2008) and are projected to increase to $1,033,000 by 2014. Call volumes have declined by about 10%. For Northbrook the cost per call has increased to $1,850 (from $1,100) and for Denbigh it has increased to $5,500 (from $3,100),” says the new report. “In our opinion, it is no longer necessary or financially justifiable to maintain ambulance service operations at both locations.”

The report recommends closing the Denbigh and Northbrook bases, and opening a new base in the Northbrook/Cloyne area. It also recommends building a new base to serve Loyalist Township, which is currently served mostly by Kingston ambulance bases operated by Frontenac County ambulance services. Ambulance calls to Loyalist are billed to L&A County, based on a cross-border agreement.

On a more positive note, the report recommends ending the policy of having northern ambulances go south to Tamworth on standby whenever the Napanee ambulance is called out, which happened twice a day, on average, last year. The report also recommends upgrading the capacity of the system to put Advanced Life Service paramedics in L&A ambulances in the coming years.

Henry Hogg, who has now been the Warden of Lennox and Addington for two years in addition to being Reeve of Addington Highlands, is less than convinced by all of the points raised in the new report.

“The report said that the new Family Health Teams in Northbrook and Denbigh have changed the service environment, but they have little to do with the kind of 24-hour emergency service that people are seeking when they call an ambulance. People call an ambulance to go to a hospital, and hospitals are an hour away from Addington Highlands,” he said.

Hogg said he is not sure that the members of county council will go along with the recommendations.

“I am not convinced that the cross-border service in Loyalist is hurting anyone, and the Denbigh base serves Renfrew and Frontenac County as well as Lennox and Addington. If that base were gone, there would be a large region that would be a long way from any ambulance base,” he said. “This is not a done deal. I’m not sure there is enough support on council for it to proceed,” he said

Ambulance talks “not fruitful”: Meanwhile back in Frontenac County, putting in a northern ambulance base continues to be on hold.

At a Frontenac County Council meeting in May, a proposal by North Frontenac to go ahead with construction of a joint ambulance base/fire hall in Ompah was deferred because details about how the costs will be divided up have not been agreed to. At the time, the direction from county council was for an agreement to be worked on at staff level.

However, talks at a staff level “have not been fruitful”, in the words of North Frontenac Mayor Bud Clayton. Staff have not met in person to work on an agreement.

According to North Frontenac CAO Cheryl Robson, County CAO Liz Savill has informed the township that she has not received specific direction from county council to alter a funding formula calling for two-thirds of the costs to be borne by North Frontenac. Since this change is what North Frontenac had requested in order to move the project forward, the matter must go back to county council, which will not be meeting until July 6.

Mayor Clayton said that he has asked County Warden Gary Davison to call an emergency meeting this month to deal with this, because the construction window for building a base in 2011 is rapidly closing, “but the warden refused to call a meeting,” Clayton said.

In the interim, the potential closing of the Denbigh base may change Frontenac County’s plans entirely, because Frontenac County depends on the Denbigh base to cover its northwest corner.

Paul Charbonneau, the Director of Emergency Services for Frontenac County, said on Tuesday, June 14 that he had just received the report about the future of the Lennox and Addington Service and will be reading it this week.

“It [the report] has not been a factor in anything we have done thus far, because I was not even aware of its existence,” he said, “but that does not mean it won’t become a factor.”

Hens on the Horizon?

Last week, Rachel Melnik-Proud asked Council to reconsider their rejection of hens on lots under three acres in size. Accordingly, township planner Lindsay Mills reported that Council could consider an alternative, such as the addition of a notwithstanding clause to section 5.41 (Hobby Farm) of the zoning by-law, which would permit a maximum of ten hens (defined as female chickens) on lots between two and three acres in size. Council agreed to proceed with the necessary zoning by-law amendment, which will require a public meeting.

Verona Community Improvement Plan (CIP)

Representatives from Frontenac County and FoTenn Consultants outlined the goals, objectives and incentive plans that would be part of a CIP for Verona. Goals are: 1) Improvement of community safety by making the main street pedestrian friendly with traffic speeds appropriate to a village-oriented atmosphere; 2) improving community appearance and amenities, and 3) improving building conditions and land use. They reassured Council that any applications for financial incentive programs would require Council approval.

There was some discussion about how long the CIP program should run, with general consensus that the tenure of the present Council might be appropriate. A draft CIP document will be released for public input and discussion prior to a public meeting scheduled for the July 5 Council meeting.

Motocross Racing on Day Farm

Both sides of the motocross racing issue were well represented, leaving standing room only. Dr Jen Scott, speaking on behalf of the local residents listed several concerns: 1) noise, 2) dust, 3) demands on SF emergency services, 4) lowered property values. She asked what if any benefit the races would bring to the community, saying in summary that the mototrack is not compatible with the continued peaceful use and enjoyment of the neighbouring properties.

Speaking on behalf of himself and Bill Day, the property owner, John McGuire of McGuire Motocross racing said his company operates racing tracks in seven municipalities in Ontario, and has a record of providing fun, safe, well managed and maintained racetracks. His business is committed to serving children and families, and accommodates racers aged 4 to 65 years old. He said races had an average of 350 entries, with 200 participants, most of whom would have only two supporters, for a total of 600 people. In order to demonstrate his wish to be a good neighbour, the race originally planned for June has been postponed.

Councillor Bill Robinson said he felt the proposed races were new, and should not be confused with problems in the past. “I hope you people will give this operation a chance.”

A straw vote saw all but Stowe and Davison in favour of a one-year trial of the racing program.

Swim Program needs staff: Recreation Director Ashley Brown said that unless she can find qualified staff, the Storrington swim program, which already has 45 registrants, is in jeopardy. As well, liability issues make it impossible to offer the level 8 (senior) program unless the township can provide a boat escort for the required long-distance swims which have to occur outside the buoy areas. She said the township lawyer had advised that local residents who choose to swim beyond the marked-off areas are voluntarily assuming the risk of encounters with motorized boats, but the township has responsibility for the safety of swim program participants.

Council advised Brown to do all she can to find some way to run the Storrington swim program, but agreed the level 8 lessons might have to be cancelled, at least for this year.

The swim programs begin in three weeks: any qualified swim instructors who might be able to help out are encouraged to contact Ashley Brown at the township as soon as possible.

By Jeff Green

Committee wants township to fight province

With a public meeting coming up to allow for input into a new comprehensive zoning bylaw in North Frontenac coming up on June 25th, North Frontenac Council received a set of recommendations from members of its Committee of Adjustment.

The committee members are concern over the potential impacts of changes that are being recommended by the township planning consultant Glenn Tunnock in attempt to get the zoning bylaw approved by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

So, they made specific recommendations about minimum lot size, setbacks from the shoreline for new construction on waterfront lots, and the creation of new lots on private roads.

The current minimum lot size in North Frontenac is 0.4 hectares (1 acre). The Ministry of Municipal Affairs would like to see a 1 hectare (2.48 acre) minimum, and Glenn Tunnock thinks the Ministry might accept 0.8 hectares.

But the committee is proposing a minimum lot size of 0.6 hectares for new lots.

Committee member Frank McEvoy wrote that “if lot sizes are further restricted by access limits and increased lot size; the price for new buyers will increase out of the reach of many. The result will be a decrease in development and tax base for the municipality.”

The committee also wants to maintain a rule requiring a 15 metre natural buffer between lakefront cottages and the water in the township, while the Province seems bent on a 30 metre buffer. They also want the township to maintain the policy that a 25% window be allowed in the buffer for property owners to view and access the water, while the Ministry is recommending only a 2 metre wide swath for access.

Finally the committee said that if the township agrees to end the creation of new lots on private lanes, it will curtail growth as well, and they recommend that this measure not be included in the zoning bylaw.

Central Frontenac township has been though the same process over the last two years, and ended up accepting the ministry recommendations.

Committee member Ron Jones said that he contacted Cathy Macmunn, planning co-ordinator in Central Frontenac.

“She advised that they [Central Frontenac] had requested a 15 metre buffer. Aparently there were no ifs ands or buts about it, as the Province came back and said “No” it wil be 30.”

Still, the committee is indicating that Glenn Tunnock, who also works for Central Frontenac, should be accepting the committee's proposals.

“We believe that our Planner should accept our recommendations, even though they are not his personal preference and help challenge the Province to attain what the Committee of Adjustment recommends, not what HE wants.”

“We very clearly in a meeting with the Province that the private lane issue will not be debated. They are insisting on it,” said Councilor John Inglis.

“This is not about what North Frontenac wants,” said Mayor Bud Clayton. “The Province wants a better, safer Ontario, and the private lanes need to be brought up to a higher standard.”

We have a dispute between our committee of a adjustment and our planner here, and ultimately council will have to decide.”

Council decided to present the differing viewpoints at the scheduled public meeting on June 25th. (see ED)

Ompah Library Users Group Proposal – Council considered a request from the Ompah Library Users group to move their temporary library into the space that has been vacated by the Kingston Frontenac Public Library when they closed the Ompah branch last month.

A written proposal estimates it will cost $4,000 to keep the branch open for the summer and reinstate public Internet access at the site. The users proposed that the township come up with half that amount and they fund raise for the rest.

Councillors Wayne Good and Gerry Martin questioned the cost estimate, and said they would oppose spending $2,000 in un-budgeted funds.

Other Councillors seemd more receptive to the funding request.

Mayor Clayton said “we are not talking about a $2,000 commitment here. It's a lot more than that.”

It was proposed by John Inglis that the users gropd be given leave to use the space, with no financial commitment from the township, and that a staff report be prepared for the next meeting to determine what the cost will be to run the interim service for four or five months.

Township CAO Cheryl Robson reported that an invitation to the Kingston Public Library Chief Librarian Deborah Defoe and the Board Chair Claudette Richardson to come to a council meeting has met with an indefinite response. There may be a delegation from the Library Board at the June 27 Council meeting, but there may not.

Richardson and Defoe will be appearing before Frontenac County Council on July 6.

By Jeff Green

County budget to lower overall municipal tax increase

A series of changes to the draft Frontenac County budget has resulted in tax decreases for ratepayers, which will counter some of the tax increases that are coming from the local townships.

In addition, $410,000 in federal gas tax funds will be transferred to the townships, to be used on local projects.

The county budget will be finalized this week after council receives a report concerning a staff proposal for a new contract position at the county office. The budget originally included two new positions at the county office but one of them has already been cut by county council.

In contrast to a four-hour meeting on March 31, which did not yield many results, a subsequent meeting on April 13 put most of the contentious items to bed, and barring any last-minute hiccoughs on April 20, the county budget will come in with a decrease in the total amount to be levied to ratepayers in the order of 4%.

The county budget represents about 21% of municipal tax bills. Another 21% comes from education taxes, which have been kept at the same amount for a number of years, and township taxes represent about 58% of the tax bills.

In rough figures, the flat education tax and the decrease in the county levy will take up about half of the increase in local taxes in 2011.

For residents of South Frontenac, where the latest draft budget has set an increase at 5%, this would bring the 2011 tax increase to 2.5% on average. There was some unease among South Frontenac councillors about the depletion of reserve funds and cuts in roads projects that were necessary in order to get the township budget under a 5% increase. These may be revisited as the county levy has been decreased. South Frontenac is set to meet later this month to finalize their budget.

In Central Frontenac, where local taxes have been set for a 10% increase, the net increase will be about 5% on the average property, thanks to the county decrease.

And in North Frontenac, where the local increase continues to be north of 10% as the budget process winds down, an increase in excess of 5% will be the likely outcome of the 2011 budget process.

Much of the April 13 meeting was taken up by matters that did not affect the 2011 budget numbers.

Faced with a challenge from the previous meeting by North Frontenac Mayor Bud Clayton that the county-owned Fairmount Home is an “elite home”, the home’s administrator, Julie Shillington, presented an eight-page report on the home’s operations. The report placed the $10 million annual Fairmount Home budget in the context of other municipally run homes in the province.

The municipal contribution towards that cost is $2.19 million

According to Shillington's report, the average share of the costs that municipalities pay into the homes they own is about 18%, and the highest amount is 30%. “For 2011 we are requesting 21.9%, which is higher than the provincial average but is down from the 23% we received in 2009,” said Shillington.

One of the major factors that Fairmount faces in terms of costs are wages, which are higher than the provincial average in virtually all departments of the home. Part of the problem, Shillington pointed out, is that competition for nursing staff, of which there are almost 100 at Fairmount, comes from outside the long-term care sector, where wages are higher. “I’m confident in saying Fairmount is not the most expensive home in the province, but we are not the least. Our direction has been to move to that financial average. We are really trying to hold on to what we have,” Shillington said.

After Shillington completed her presentation, Bud Clayton said he had never intended to question the professionalism of the Fairmount Home staff.

“I'm not picking on Fairmount Home,” Clayton said, “it's just that North Frontenac ratepayers end up paying $120,000 as their share of Fairmount costs, and this money is going to a home they don't particularly want. That's it in a nutshell. In terms of long-term care, the issue is families, and distance, and Fairmount is located a long way from North Frontenac.”

“County council has set targets for Fairmount to reach and they have been reached for this year,” said Warden Gary Davison. “I am asking that council accept this budget.”

Council moved on to a small item that proved to be contentious, this time with the councillors from the Frontenac Islands questioning the proposed expenditure of $86,000 to support the Frontenac Transportation Service, which has no presence on the islands.

Transportation services, mainly for medical appointments, have been offered by Southern Frontenac Community Services and Northern Frontenac Community Services with county support for a number of years. As a condition of continued support the county has been pushing the two agencies to combine forces and establish a seamless service for mainland Frontenac County.

After a number of false starts, in March the county was informed that Frontenac Transportation Service will be available to all mainland residents of the county starting on May 1.

The service is requesting an increase in county funding this year to help with the transition. Instead of the $80,000 they have received in previous years, they were seeking $86,000.

Pointing out that the service does not operate in Frontenac Islands, Mayor Dennis Doyle wondered why his residents have to pay for it. “I can't agree with spending $86,000 on this,” he said.

Central Frontenac Mayor Janet Gutowski said, “We are wearing our county hats here. You are still part of the county. We are probably going to see continued demand for the services of this agency. It's going to be a positive time, and they anticipate asking for fewer dollars in the future, so I support this grant.”

Dennis Doyle proposed cutting the grant down to $80,000 but his motion did not receive enough support.

Gas tax grant

In a move that did not effect the county budget levy but could have implications for the activities of both the Economic Development and Sustainability Planning Departments of the County, $400,000 of the $735,000 in federal gas tax rebates that the county must spend this year will be divvied up among the local townships.

A county staff report had recommended that only $110,000 of that money should be handed out, and the rest be spent on a number of county-led projects.

Bud Clayton proposed that $600,000 be allocated to the townships, but Mayor Doyle said he thought that “might be a little too aggressive. Let's get there in a year or so, and pay for some of the projects that are already underway”.

Janet Gutowski said she ”has sympathy with the pressures on the local level, but the projects that are being proposed by staff are forward looking and we need to do some of that. I can't support this motion.”

Dennis Doyle's proposal was supported by county council, leaving the fate of a number of initiatives that were to be funded by gas tax dollars in doubt.

Recycling Strategy

Council received a draft Municipal Waste Recycling Strategy (MWRS) plan that was prepared by Cambium Environmental Inc. along with township staff. The township is undertaking the plan in order to 1) maximize Best Practices funding; 2) Identify and demonstrate continuous improvement towards Best practices; 3) clarify long-term Blue Box diversion goals; and 4) identify cost-effective solutions to maximize Blue Box diversion.

The township has achieved 22.4% overall diversion when construction and other waste is calculated in, though Councilor Tony Fritsch noted that the Blue Box program is actually diverting almost 60% of potential recyclables.

It was also noted that two major institutions in the township, North Addington Education Centre and Pine Meadow Nursing Home, do not contribute any recyclables at all to the Blue Box program. The school ships its waste and the nursing home sells its recyclables elsewhere and only brings its garbage to the waste sites.

Nevertheless, the township’s overall 22.4% diversion is above average for its municipal grouping, in which the average rate is 21.28%.

However, the township’s recycling costs are also higher than the average in its grouping: $1,660 per tonne in 2009, as opposed to an average of $565.08 per tonne per year in other municipalities. Council will look into the causes of the high costs.

The report recommended public education and training as being the best and most cost-effective way to improve the township’s recycling program. Several councilors pointed out also that the township should lead the way by providing recycling bins at least in its own halls, though the idea of establishing satellite depots to improve public access and convenience was dismissed because such depots would be too vulnerable to contamination and other problems.

Council also discussed approaching the Limestone District School Board about initiating recycling education for the students.

The township will be consulting with the public and will be inviting input from residents on the draft MWRS plan.

Road Washout - On April 18, an early morning washout near Vennachar closed the Buckshot Lake Road. Roads Supervisor Royce Rosenblath reported that the washout was due to a beaver dam, and that although one vehicle was caught in it, somehow the driver had managed to maintain control when the pavement collapsed under the vehicle and no one was hurt. The vehicle was severely damaged, however.

Un-maintained Roads - Royce Rosenblath presented council with a list of all the un-maintained township roads, and those with full-time residences are noted. Councilor Helen Yanch asked if Rosenblath could also provide council with the length of the roads.

Editorial by Jeff Green

Last week, members of South Frontenac Council received the draft capital budget for next year, which they will consider when they sit down this weekend to hammer out their 2013 township budget.

Included in that capital budget is the continuation of a relatively aggressive road reconstruction plan, at a cost of $4.5 million.

To pay for that, the draft budget calls for $3.5 million from 2013 tax dollars, $475,000 from township reserve funds, and $600,000 from a grant from the City of Kingston.

Two of these numbers require a bit of explanation. Township reserves are slated to decrease this year, as they have for several years. The draft capital budget calls for the reserves to drop to $13.1 million by the end of 2013, down from $14.5 million at the end of 2012. This, of course, is not good news.

But the $600,000 grant from Kingston is another matter altogether. It is accompanied by a note at the side of the page, which says “City of Kingston ???”

To understand this $600,000 accompanied by no less than three question marks, we have to go back to 1997, to the Ambassador Hotel in Kingston where the final deals were made between Kingston and Frontenac County politicians, setting up an expanded City of Kingston and a diminished Frontenac County.

The two largest townships in the former Frontenac County were Kingston and Pittsburgh townships. They both joined the City of Kingston, depriving Frontenac County of its largest source of property tax revenue. At the same time, the County roads system was devolved to the local townships. In compensation for all these changes, the City of Kingston agreed to help South Frontenac Township with the maintenance costs on those roads, which include Perth Road, Sydenham Road, Battersea Road, and others. A smaller amount went to Frontenac Islands for Howe Island Road.

The agreement was set to last for 15 years, and those 15 years are up on January 1, 2013, which is why the $600,000 that was received in 2012 is very much in doubt for the coming year.

Since I have been covering budget debates in South Frontenac, council members, mayors and senior staff have consistently talked about the $600,000 running out after 2012. My understanding was that the money was transitional, designed to help South Frontenac to get on its feet.

Members of South Frontenac Council talked about weaning themselves from that money before it ran out.

But as we can see in the 2013 capital budget, South Frontenac Council still needs that money if they are not going to have to make some difficult decisions. They will have to cut planned road work, raising taxes, or dip even further into reserve funds.

What surprised me is not that the money will be missed, but that there is any expectation that the City might choose to renew the payment beyond 2012.

It turns out that the 1997 restructuring order does indeed leave the door open for the City to keep paying. It reads, “The council of the new City and the new Frontenac Management Board [since re-named Frontenac County] shall, on or after January 1, 2013, reconsider the annual contribution.”

It is pretty close to 2013 now, and how or when that reconsideration will take place is unclear, but presumably Frontenac County will ask for the payments to be renewed sometime soon.

Aside from the implications for the South Frontenac budget as this $600,000 question plays out, it also raises another question. After 15 years, has municipal amalgamation worked for residents of Frontenac County, or is it time to rethink some of the relationships that have developed?

The county continues to suffer from having a dearth of commercial/industry tax assessment and no population centres.

Without support from the City of Kingston, what does the future look like for Frontenac?

Looking to the west, Lennox and Addington includes Napanee, and Hastings County includes Belleville. Frontenac County needs Kingston, but Kingston does not need to support Frontenac County.

That does not really bode well for the future.

Draft South Frontenac Capital budget set to rise by over $1 million

CAO Orr walked Council through a proposed capital budget which included (mainly road and bridge) construction, and any item costing more than $5,000. Other, smaller items will go into the operating budget.

Overall, the proposed 2013 capital budget is $1,105,605 more than it was in 2012, with the tax levy raised by $360,000 and reserves contributing an additional $739,600 over the current year.

Total reserve forecast at the end of 2012 is $14,505,016, and the reserve forecast for the end of 2013 will drop to $12,608,592.

Orr said that this document counted in the $600,000 contribution that has been forthcoming from the City of Kingston each year since 1998 as compensation for South Frontenac assuming responsibility for former county roads. By the terms of the amalgamation agreement of 1997, that funding agreement ends this year. Orr warned council that this funding is the subject of negotiation currently and has not yet been secured for 2013.

Two other unresolved issues are the funding of the Sydenham water plant and the Frontenac Arena.

Also, both Fire and Recreation have carried forward several projects that were in the 2012 budget, but which have not been done.

There were relatively few comments from Council: the gloves will come off on Saturday, November 10, when they are scheduled to meet for day-long budget deliberations.

Traffic Speed in Verona

Elaine Abrams spoke to Council of her concern about the speed of traffic through Verona, in spite of a posted limit of 50 (40 by the school). She said the sidewalks used by small children are dangerously close to passing traffic, and that she doubted that further reducing the speed limit would do any good. Nor did it seem to her that it is feasible to ask for more police enforcement. She wondered whether three stop signs, at intervals through the village, possibly with rumble strips, might help.

Mayor Davison said the Township has been getting complaints from residents about the noise of rumble strips in other locations. Deputy Mayor McDougal added that Dr Dempsey has complained about the noise of large trucks as they come into the village, and he has also had requests for some sort of safe crossing near the post office.

Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth said there were a lot of traffic issues throughout the township, and it was important to look at all the options.

The problem was referred to the Public Works Committee for consideration and recommendations.

Hazardous Waste Site May have Hours Extended

Segsworth reported that the household hazardous waste site has successfully completed its first year of operation (April-May 2012),and has added e-waste and bale and boat wrap to its services. Due to the increasing demand, he recommended that Council consider extending the program over the winter, at the reduced rate of two days per month: the second and fourth Thursdays of each month except December, which would skip the fourth Thursday.

Brendar Environmental, the present contractor, has agreed to continue at the current rate of $565 plus tax, per event. Because of the apparent support of most council members, this recommendation will come to the next Council meeting as a resolution.

Waste Disposal Site Operation

Segsworth brought a report summarizing the public input from meetings in Bedford and Portland, which were based on AECOM Engineerings recently completed operational review of the townships waste management operations.

Recommendations from the public meetings included: 1] increase recycling diversion through a promotion and education program, which would include promotion of communal bins for residents living on private lanes, 2] investigating alternatives to closing the Bedford sites, 3] moving to a standard 4-day per week collection, with garbage and recycling on the same pick-up day, and 4] improving security at all waste disposal sites, enforce the penalties for illegal dumping, and provide better signage.

By incorporating public input into the AECOM review, Segsworth said the Public Services Committee arrived at the following recommendations: 1] Keep Green Bay and Bradshaw sites open until capacity is reached 2] Evaluate the current practice of exporting South Storrington waste: landfilling this waste in South Frontenac would save an estimated to save $100,000 a year, 3] Reduce hours at Township waste disposal sites by one-third, to reduce operating costs and encourage the use of weekly garbage and recycling pick-up, 4] Install a weigh scale and adjust tipping fees, and 5] Implement an area fill method, which will make more efficient use of landfill capacity.

If Council endorses these recommendations, a public information session will be held.

Councilllor Ron Vandewal said it was frustrating that Bedford residents had been slow to accept curbside collection. Councillor Bill Robinson then expressed his disapproval at the proposed changes, which he felt confused people.

Mark Segsworth reminded Council that over the last five years they had made significant improvements in the management of solid waste, but still need

to divert more waste from the landfill sites through recycling.

“We’re making progress, but can’t please everyone, and can’t change everything at once,” he said.

Segsworth said that implementing the recommendations from the AECOM report would provide the township with landfill capacity until 2032, at an estimated cost of $9.5 million over the 20 year period, or $450,000 per year. This represents a savings of $7.1 million over the cost of the status quo over the same period, estimated to be $16.6 million, or $830,000 per year.

Coat of Arms Update

Councillor Tinlin unveiled an artist’s draft of the proposed coat of arms and flag for the Township: an enormous improvement over the earlier rough sketch. 

Construction numbers down, but not department costs

Construction starts were up in September as compared to last year, but with the quiet late fall months upon us, the yearly total seems sure to lag behind the numbers from 2011.

In September, led by three new waterfront homes and two large additions to existing homes, permits for over $1.5 million in construction were issued, as compared to under $500,000 in September, 2011.

However, principally because August of 2011 featured over $2.5 million in construction as compared to $650,000 in August 2012, the year to date total for 2012, which is just under $5 million, is well below that of 2011, which was over $6.5 million.

While there is not much Council can do about construction levels, they will be looking at building permit fees in the near future.

“I need to give Council a heads up that our permit fees are not covering the cost of the building department, which is what they are supposed to do,” Township CAO Cheryl Robson told Council, “and this is something we will be looking at when we look at all our user fees as part of our service delivery review.”

So far in 2012, the township has taken in $76,000 in permit fees, a drop from $90,000 at this time last year.

The actual costs of running the department, however, are about $140,000 per year, Robson said, so covering them entirely with permit fees would see a significant increase. The current fees for a new home work out to about 1% of the construction value.

Steady rise in website usage – the North Frontenac township website has continued to see increased traffic this year. In the July-September period (the busiest of the year) there were 14,815 visits to the site, an increase of 43% over the 10,358 visitors in the peak season last year.

Over the past three years, usage has fluctuated in the same manner each year, starting slowly early in the year and then building to the peak months of July and August before subsiding. The overall numbers have gone up so much that the number of visitors in the quiet months of 2012, January and February - about 95 visitors per day - now exceeds those of the busiest summer months in 2010.

The site’s success can be mainly attributed to its increased functionality as new features have been added over time.

Recycling levels at 55%

For the latest quarter, the total bags of recycling were 55% of the total waste brought to the sites. Of the seven sites in the township, the Plevna site, at 59.35% had the highest level of recycling, while the Cloyne site, at 51.05%, had the lowest.

Resignation from Committee of Adjustment

Frank McEvoy, a long-serving member of the township’s committee of adjustment, has resigned. Carl Tooley, who has been sitting as the alternate member of the committee, will take his place and the township will be advertising for a new alternate member.

McEvoy sent a letter of resignation to the township, which was considered during the closed session of the meeting.

On Oct. 15, 40 Clarendon Central students from all grades attended the municipal office for Local Government Week activities. This was  a great opportunity for the kids and teachers to see what is involved with the day-to-day operations in North Frontenac Township.

The kids started their day at the CAO’s Office. CAO Cheryl Robinson explained what a municipality does, the role of Council and her role as the Chief Administrative Officer. She discussed how there are many different departments and managers and the importance of her job in bringing back directions from Council to ensure the various departments work together to make North Frontenac a happy, healthy and safe place to live.

At the building department, George Gorrie showed student plans for a home an explained the pupose of building permits, and the importance of building inspection, to ensure homes are being built safely.

Evan Sepa did a mapping exercise with them, having a large map for them to place pins in, to show the location where they live. This map will be going to the school for display. Evan also showed the kids the 911 signs and the road signs and explained how he makes them. The biggest thrill for the kids was seeing the great big printer that is in Evan’s Office. 

Jenny Duhamel explained her role as Clerk and talked about planning.  She also gave a brief explanation on zoning and showed the kids her zoning maps. The children enjoyed this and showed Jenny where they lived on her maps. In the tax department, Andrea, Angela, Kelly and Naomi explained the purpose of taxes, so that the munipality can provide a rink to play at, community halls and other services.

Corey Klatt explained about the Crown Land Stewardship Program, community halls, streetlights, trails. The kids were particularly interested in the maps with the campsites and the picture of the night sky from our recent star gazing party.

The children met Jim Phillips, who taught them about the roads, waste sites, recycling, etc. Then they toured the garage, where they had questions for Jeff the mechanic, who happened to be replacing brakes on one of the 550s. They were amazed at the equipment in the garage and how big it was. From there the kids went to the sand shed and sat in the loader, grader and dumptruck. The kids asked if all the sand in the shed would be used this winter, how the brine works and what it does, and were amazed by the computer in the dumptruck. They loved honking the horns in the loader and the dumptruck.

Paramedics (Donna and Michelle) from Frontenac County and the North Frontenac EFR  team brought along an ambulance. Students were put on a stretcher and a backboard and loaded into the ambulance and were also allowed to sit in the driver’s seat and go through the back to see all the equipment.  A highlight for the kids was having their blood pressure, oxygen level checked, assisted by the EFR team. Kids asked how the bed stays in the ambulance, how fast the ambulance could go, what the equipment does, what the straps are for on the backboards, how to talk on the radio.

Students learned about fire prevention, the importance of immediately getting out a burning house, learned proper technique to operate fire extinguishers, discharging a fire extinguisher with Eric Korhonen. Thes made bird houses from recycled pop bottles and javex jugs with Brenda & Judy to promote the importance of recycling by re-use of a material in North Frontenac Twp. Brenda  had given a recycling presentation  at the school last spring, she was impressed by how much the students remembered from her previous presentation.

Afterwards, members of the fire department barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs for the kids. It was a fantastic day and everyone worked together to make it a huge success.