Harrowsmith Area Housing Proposal

A public meeting was called to review an application for an Official Plan amendment that would permit multiple dwellings (eight units in four buildings) on a 3.9 acre property on Road 38, just south of the Harrowsmith settlement area.

Councillor Allan McPhail said he felt development of this sort should occur only within a hamlet. Councillor Ron Vandewal questioned permitting eight residences on a lot that would normally support only one, without a plan of subdivision. Mayor Davison said that having more than five units drawing from a shared well was “a whole different ball game.” There were no comments from the public.

The report and discussion will be forwarded to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing for their review.

Severance Application Denied

Council turned down an application to sever and rezone (to Special Commercial) a lot from the hundred-acre Asselstine property, which runs between Petworth and Boyce Roads in Hartington. The property has already had its maximum number of severances: three on Petworth Road, and through special consideration, a further three on Boyce Road. The last three were permitted because they are a kilometer away from the first three, and are located within the Hartington settlement area.

The current request was for a fourth severance on Boyce Road, to allow the owner to retain the proposed lot, which has a solar panel on it, and to sell the rest of the property. Council said there was no way they could support what amounted to a fourth severance on Boyce Road, even though it would have a non-residential zoning.

5% Parkland Fee Policy Set

Council agreed to a recommendation from the Corporate Services Committee, that “the parkland fee shall be apportioned at five percent for all non commercial or industrial purposes, and that delegation requests to alter this percent not be scheduled before Council.” Councillor Vandewal noted that by changing the wording, which had been “up to 5%”, they would be removing a grey area. Applicants will still have the option of contesting the assessment value upon which the 5% is calculated.

Verona Finds its New Doctor

Mayor Davison galvanized a snoozing press gallery at the end of a long meeting when he congratulated Deputy Mayor McDougall on Verona’s new doctor. McDougall said the doctor’s identity cannot be revealed until some details of the contract are finalized. He expects a formal announcement will be made on September 20.

Harrowsmith Mail Boxes: Councillor Robinson said many Harrowsmith residents had complained about the closure of the village post office, and the location of the mail pick-up boxes in the park uphill from the village. Public Works Manager Segsworth explained that the post office had given him rather short notice, and the only public site that offered adequate parking, full accessibility, snow clearance, and good lighting had been at the ball park.

Photo: The Ompah fire hall, which is not only too small to hold all the equipment the fire crew uses, it is also slowly sinking into the swampy ground

“Give us a chance to decide what we want to do, and to do it right.”

That was the final word from North Frontenac Mayor Bud Clayton, at least for this week, after hearing a chorus of comments and suggestions from Ompah area residents at two meetings on subsequent days.

The first meeting was a public meeting organized by the Canonto Lake Property Owners' Association on Sunday August 19. It drew an overflow crowd of an estimated 160 people to the Ompah hall. The community hall is located in the same building as the Ompah fire hall, which is not only too small to hold all the equipment the fire crew uses, it is also slowly sinking into the swampy ground.

The second meeting, held in the same location, was a regularly scheduled North Frontenac Council meeting on Monday, August 20.

The hall was less crowded at the Council meeting, but there were about 25 Ompah firefighters and supporters on hand to hear a presentation by Jim Holton, as well as costing numbers that were put together by fire department member Brian Moffit.

“I wondered how much it would cost to build a fire hall,” Moffit said as he began a short power point presentation in front of Council, “so I made some calls and got some written quotes.”

What Moffit came up with was a 45x100 foot building with 16-foot high ceilings, in either steel or wood frame construction, at a cost of $348,000.

The township had been prepared to spend up to $550,000 on a 2750 square foot fire hall that was to be built in conjunction with a Frontenac County ambulance base. However at the public meeting on Sunday, Mayor Clayton said that of that money, $150,000 was to come from reserve funds, but “was only being made available as an inducement for the county to bring the ambulance base to Ompah, which is not going to happen now.”

On July 16, North Frontenac Council voted to pull out of the ambulance base/fire hall project because the bids on a Request for Proposal for the preferred bid on the project would have meant a $724,000 cost to the township for the contract alone, not including ancillary costs, which Mayor Clayton said could have resulted in North Frontenac ratepayers being on the hook for up to $1 million.

At the public meeting on August 19, the consensus among the people who aired their views during the public session was that Council made the right decision to get out of the deal with the county, but that now they should get going immediately to build a fire hall on the site they purchased for that purpose.

Leo Ladouceur, a former member of the Ompah fire crew, who served as a resource person for the firefighters at the public meeting, summed up the perspective of most of the people in the hall when he said: “We expect the mayor to get the will together to build the fire hall we need. And please build the fire hall we need and not one the size of a councilor's hat.”

Mayor Clayton, as well as Councilors Watkins, Inglis and Hunter, who were present at the Sunday morning meeting, all committed to voting for a fire hall to be built in Ompah.

At least one other vote on Council would be needed to support building a fire hall.

There was nothing on the formal agenda at the Monday night meeting about the fire hall, aside from the presentation by Jim Holton and Brian Moffit. But Councilor Inglis said that one way or another he will make sure the matter is brought forward at the next meeting, on September 10.

“Somebody will prepare an administrative report and try to bring this to a vote,” said Inglis.

If indeed the project receives support in principle from Council on September 10, there will still be two major issues to resolve.

The first has to do with the property that is slated to house the building. In pursuing the ill-fated ambulance base/fire hall project, it came to light that the property was once a service station, and a consultant looking into possible contamination of the site concluded that a $30,000 study may or may not be sufficient to give the site a clean bill of environmental health.

Council will need to decide if it wants to ignore the consultant's advice and go ahead; to seek a new site for the fire hall; or to reverse their own decision of July 16 not to proceed with the study and invest the $30,000 and perhaps more to clear the site.

The second issue is the actual cost of a fire hall.

There is $400,000 in the 2012 fire budget for a fire hall in Ompah, but until the township itself costs the building the precise costs will not be known.

Mayor Clayton asked Brian Moffit for all the information he has gathered about cost, but the township will have to follow their own process to determine the final price.

While the future prospects for a new Ompah fire hall remain in question, the public meeting established that the seasonal cottager population stands firmly behind their fire crews, partly because fire crews deliver one of the few township services that seasonal populations can identify, and partly for financial reasons.

One seasonal resident pointed out that he has recently re-insured his cottage and while doing it he asked the insurer what the effect of closing the Ompah fire hall would be on his insurance.

“He said it would go up 23%,” the man said. “That would cost me $450.”

CIIF grant application – North Frontenac, one of the smallest of 400 municipalities in Ontario, is seeking some of the $50 million that is available in matching grants under the Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund (CIIF) a federally funded, provincially administered program.

The township is seeking funding for improvements to each of its five township halls, and has pushed the Clarendon/Miller Hall, which has been facing a drainage and mold problem, to the front of the line. The other four halls, Ompah, Barrie, Harlowe and Snow Road, are included as secondary applications.

Fire fighters to cover some of Norcan Lane damages: The township received a letter from Grant Small, a year-round resident on Norcan Lane, at the north-eastern edge of the township. As part of a subdivision agreement, the property owners on the lane pay for road maintenance. The lane was included in the spring ATV run that was sponsored by the Ompah firefighters, and Mr. Small asserted that the road was damaged by the hundreds of ATVs that used it as part of the April ATV poker run, The association paid over $800 to have the road graded after the run.

“As North Frontenac does not pay to maintain this lane and provides us with limited services we feel justified in requesting the grading cost from the township,” wrote Mr. Small.

Councilors Inglis, Watkins and Martin said that even though the township does not have a legal obligation to provide funding, and there was a concern that it should be clear it would be a one-time grant, the township should offer to pay half of the cost.

Councilor Good said that the firefighters should take responsibility for the damage, not the township.

The deputy chief for the Ompah station, Denis Bedard, was attending the meeting, He said that he would likely be able to convince the Ompah firefighters to come up with $200 from their fundraising proceeds.

Councilor Good then said that the township portion should come from the monies that the township receives from the Ministry of Natural Resources to maintain Crown land roadways and trails.

Cory Klatt, the township employee who manages the Crown Land Stewardship Program and the roads included in a land use permit with the MNR, said, “Norcan Lane is not on crown land; it is a private lane. We can’t use money from the MNR for a road that is not located on Crown land."

Denis Bedard then said that the firefighters will cover the entire $400 and council passed a motion offering $400 to the Norcan Association. Of the six council members in attendance, (Betty Hunter was not at the meeting) five supported the motion, with Councilor Good being the only naysayer.

$5,000 for Fish TV: The Land o' Lakes Tourist Association (LOLTA) wants to enter into a partnership with Fish TV, a syndicated fishing show that airs in Canada and the United States. The five-year marketing agreement will result in the production of eight shows featuring the Land O’Lakes region as well as inclusion in Fish TV marketing at trade shows and sports shows.

The deal will require an infusion of cash from LOLTA and LOLTA General Manager Rachelle Hardesty is asking all of the member municipalities within the LOLTA catchment area (Frontenac and Lennox and Addington County and the Town of Tweed) - nine townships in total - for $5000 from each of them over two years as leverage money for a grant application to the Community Futures Development Corporation for the project.

North Frontenac Council supported the proposal and made the commitment. The township also provides $4,000 each year to LOLTA as a sponsoring municipality.

Sunday Lake Road: The Sunday Lake Association wrote to the township to inquire what needs to be done to bring their road up to a township standard so the road can be assumed by the township. The letter pointed out that the original subdivision agreement in 1983 said that the township (which was then Palmerston-Canonto) might consider assuming the road at a future date. It also pointed out that there is now over $6 million in annual property assessment coming from Sunday Lake Lane property owners

“What would be the advantage for us in assuming the road, and paying for maintenance on it?” asked Councilor John Inglis.

The letter was received for information.

$10,000 for community profile: As part of its work promoting business in North Frontenac, the Economic Development Task Force has concluded that in order for the township to be what they call “investor ready”, a community profile geared at the business community needs to be developed. “The project scope is to hire a contract technical writer who could conduct research and revise the entire document to ensure it meets the requirements of investment readiness,” wrote Councilor Betty Hunter in requesting a funding envelope of $10,000 for the project. The money would come from the economic development budget for 2012 and council approved the expenditure.

Environmental impact studies need to be done

As the long hot summer drags to a close with no sign of construction of a new school in the mostly empty parking lot at Sharbot Lake High School, rumours have been circulating that the project is either about to be scrapped, has already been scrapped, or is in some other sort of deep trouble.

The truth, it turns out, is less dramatic.

Planning delays.

In order to put a new building in the location that the architects have chosen, a minor variance in the Central Frontenac zoning bylaw is necessary because the site can only accommodate 100 cars, 21 fewer than are required in the zoning bylaw for a building of that size, and the setbacks from a nearby wetland is 9.5 metres instead of the required 30 metres.

In order for this variance to be granted the township required that the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) report on the environmental impacts and so an Environmental Impact Study was commissioned. The results and an opinion from the MVCA are expected within the week.

The Limestone District School Board has asked the township to try to pass the zoning bylaw amendment and an accompanying site plan agreement as soon as possible, and in an effort to accommodate that request, the township is holding two rare Thursday meetings on August 30. The Committee of Adjustment will meet at 6:30 to deal with the minor variance, and a Council meeting will follow at 7:00 pm for a public meeting on the site plan agreement, followed by a decision by Council to accept or reject that agreement.

If all goes smoothly on the 31st, the school board will be able to seek a building permit for the project after a 20-day appeal period.

So, by early fall, the shovels may indeed hit the ground at SLHS, making it possible to achieve the September 2013 target date for opening.

That is - unless someone decides to challenge the site plan agreement or zoning bylaw variance to the Ontario Municipal Board. Then all bets would be off.

by Jeff Green and Julie Druker

Aside from approving a Community Improvement Plan for Sharbot Lake, the only Central Frontenac Council meeting in August was mostly taken up with updates from staff members and correspondence, as council prepares for a busier fall season and an early crack at their 2013 budget.

Fire department busy – Fire Chief Bill Young and Deputy Chief Art Cowdy brought their quarterly report to Council. The department has been busy, dealing with 36 fire calls and 41 medical assists between May 1 and July 31.

Bill Young talked also about how busy the department has been during the recent drought and burn ban, which came off on Monday after a week of wet weather.

Council members expressed a concern that the fine for illegal burning, $50, is too low.

“We will be looking at all the fees the township charges in the fall,” said CAO Shawn Trépanier. “Some of them are very low. For instance a fire permit costs $2 here when other municipalities charge $10 or $25.”

Public Works Manager Mike Richardson reported that surface treatment has been completed on 3 km of the Arden Road, and that Crains' Construction has completed work at the Arden dam site, where all that is still needed is a handrail. The culvert replacement on Crow Lake Road is underway, and will take about two weeks to complete.

Brushing the sides of roads has been helped along this year because the township has made use of student labour for flagging traffic down. Four students were hired and Richardson recommends this practise be continued in future years.

Thirteen culverts have also been replaced on a number of township roads.

Blasting has also been done at the site of the future Olden ball park behind Land O’Lakes Public School in Mountain Grove, and Mike Richardson said the ball field itself should be useable by next season, with the rest of the project slated for completion over the next two or three years.

Kyle Labbett, Waste Management Supervisor, was not present at the meeting, but Mike Richardson reported in his stead that the flow of recycled goods to the sites has increased substantially since new rules came into effect on April 1.

“The work load has increased for the one staff member who is managing each site at a given time, and we will be working to find ways to improve the efficiency and maintain the service level so that our recycling efforts are not wasted because we are not able to keep up with the new work demands” Richardson said, adding that increased staffing at the waste sites will have to be looked at in the 2013 budget.

Lower tier works managers meeting –

A meeting of the four township public works managers in Frontenac County was held on June 6, and Mike Richardson included the minutes to the meeting in his report.

In addition to discussing the possibility of joint tenders for line painting, salt and equipment purchases, the four managers also talked about the possibility of a joint contract with AECOM for monitoring and sampling all four township’s waste sites.

Much of the discussion centred around downloaded roads, and the minutes indicated general agreement that Roads 95 and 96 on Wolfe Island, Road 38 in South and Central Frontenac, Road 509 in Central and North Frontenac, and Road 506 in North Frontenac, be the focus of any joint efforts that are undertaken. The minutes also contain a proposal that may find some traction in township and county council debates for the 2013 budget year.

“It was suggested that each municipality put their portion of the County Federal Gas Tax into a reserve that would be for corridor maintenance only. The managers also discussed recommending to their respective councils that the county put in 50% of their Federal Gas Tax into the reserve for the corridor maintenance as well. It was decided that the four managers would put together a proposal to submit to the CAO of each municipality,” Richardson said.

The group will meet again on September 13 in North Frontenac, and intends to meet quarterly to discuss common issues.

Mayor Gutowski said she is pleased that Richardson included the minutes with his presentation, and is heartened by the works managers' initiative in taking a regional approach to common problems.

Property standards bylaw rejected: CAO Trépanier reported that four public meetings have now been held about the proposal for a property standards bylaw in the township, and 80% of the people attending the meetings said that the township should either adopt a property standards bylaw or strengthen its existing safe properties bylaw. A number of councilors said they thought a property standards bylaw was something people do not want but a beefed up safe properties bylaw is required. The matter will be back before council in the fall, after the township's lawyer has a chance to comment on possible changes.

Sharbot Lake CIP approved

Following a presentation by CAO Shawn Trépanier outlining the final draft for the Sharbot Lake Community Improvement Plan (CIP) and the sparsely attended public meeting that followed it, council passed a by-law approving the plan, which will make available a total of $80,000 ($70,000 from Frontenac County and $10,000 from Central Frontenac) to owners of local residences and businesses looking to make various improvements.

The overall aim of a CIP is to stimulate economic development in the area.

Prior to the passing of the by-law, members of council broadened the initial designated area of the CIP to include the Sharbot Lake Marina and the businesses located just south of Clement Road. After much discussion about whether to limit available funds to businesses only, council decided to include both businesses and residences within the targeted CIP area. Some of the changes made to the draft plan following a previous public meeting included incorporating Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing feedback, increasing funding for business projects while decreasing funding for residential projects, and increasing the maximum grant allowed from $2,500 to $3,000.

Due to input from the last public meeting, a Highway 7 landscaping program was removed altogether. With the by-law now in place to implement the plan, the township could see the public application process begin as soon as mid-September.

Interested applicants can visit the township's website www.centralfrontenac.com for more information about the plan. Details about the application process should soon be made available on the website.

Elbow Lake Stewardship Plan presented to council

Geraldine Graham and Jen Olson, co-chairs of the Elbow Lake Stewardship Plan, made a presentation to council.

The co-chairs highlighted the five main objectives for the plan: 1) to maintain and improve water quality, 2) maintain and improve wildlife and fish habitat, 3) preserve the peace and tranquility of the lake, 4) emphasize safety and respect on the lake, and 5) to strengthen the sense of community around the lake.

Detailed recommendations to achieve each of the five objectives were put forward in the plan, and following the presentations the co-chairs were congratulated by members of council for the professionalism, depth and completeness of the document, which it was agreed would go a long way in preserving the natural beauty of the area.

Ralph Seamons, of Tanglewood Marina on the north shore of Weslemkoon Lake, appeared before Council

He brought Jim Reynolds along with him. Reynolds is a seasonal resident on Weslemkoon, and a client of Ralph Seamons' garbage delivery business. Seamons has been having difficulty complying with some new dumping provisions that Addington Highlands brought in last year, in particular the requirement that all recyclable items be placed in a blue box and handed to the dump attendant, who then inspects the items and carries the box up a ramp to dump the items in township bins.

Seamons, who has been running his business since 2001, has developed his own system. He transports the recyclable materials to the waste disposal site on Hartsmere Road in “totes” that are the size of 8 or 9 blue bins. Until the new rules took effect, he would dump the contents of the totes in the township bin, but now he must use the totes to fill one blue box at a time, and wait while the attendant checks the contents of the blue box, carries it up a ramp and dumps it into the township bin.

“I take 16 totes full of recyclables once a week during the summer. Now instead of simply dumping the contents once, I have to fill the blue box 125 times, and wait for the attendant to dump the blue box. It costs me a lot of time and the attendant as well,” said Seamons.

He said it now takes 6 hours to do his recycling run when it used to take 2, and asked that he be able to use a less onerous system, preferably a return to the old system. He offered to enter into a contract with the township, with specific terms being spelled out.

“The problem is that contaminants, non-recyclable materials, were getting into our recycling stream and when that happens our recycling load is rejected at the recycling depot in Renfrew. Each time that happens it costs us up to $1,000 in total,” said Reeve Hogg.

Jim Reynolds said that he hopes the township can make an arrangement with Seamons, who said he might get out of the garbage business if the situation is not resolved.

“We have steadily increased our recycling, and I fear that if this is not resolved we will end up with no service, and that will result in garbage being dumped at the side of the road,” said Reynolds, who added that one of the attractions of Seamons' service to them is the fact they can deliver their garbage and recycling 24 hours a day instead of having to deal with limited township dump hours.

Seamons also asked that he be able to dump his trailer full of bagged garbage onto the waste pile instead of having to pull the bags out of his trailer one at a time and place them on the pile.

“I am 73 years old and I don’t want to have to do this anymore,” he said.

Reeve Hogg pointed out that everyone in the township must follow the same rules. He also said that Mr Seamons' trailer has not always been successful in dumping all the bags on the waste pile, with some leaking out and having to be cleaned up by township crews.

“We need to come to a solution for this,” said Seamons, “there have been problems in the past but I’m talking about the future.”

Council members asked questions of Seamons, but did not have time to address his requests, which they will look at in September.

Truck and paving contracts awarded – One large and one small contract was awarded at the meeting. The large one was the purchase of a plow/sander at a cost of $193,000 from Winslow Geromaly Motors of Peterborough ($225,000 was allocated to the purchase in the 2012 budget).

The smaller item was the paving contract for the handicapped parking sites at the new Denbigh community centre at a cost of $4,800.

Flinton Rec Centre washrooms

Council decided to purchase new doors and stalls for the Flinton Recreation Centre washrooms, as the existing ones are 25 years old and failing. Two quotes will be sought for materials and installation.

Agreements with North Frontenac

Two agreements that were discussed at the joint meeting between Addington Highlands and North Frontenac were ratified. One is to allow Addington Highlands residents access to the Highway 506 waste site in North Frontenac for the disposal of hazardous waste. The second was for a joint protocol for declaring a fire ban.

Council Sticks with the Rules

Darlene Clement asked Council to consider waiving the fee in lieu of parkland (5% of property value) for a recent severance of her father’s property. This property, originally two separate farms, had merged in the ‘60s, due to common ownership. Ms Clement felt an exception should be made because both newly created properties are expected to remain with family members. Council directed staff to obtain an official evaluation of the property, but indicated they did not wish to begin making exceptions to the official plan. As they left the meeting, one member of the delegation shouted to council: “I don’t like your attitude!”

Later in the meeting, Council agreed they saw no reason to close and sell a road allowance in Storrington, for it is township policy to not close road allowances that lead to water.

Council did agree to close and sell another portion of road allowance in Storrington after a site visit confirmed the allowance runs through a swamp. However, they turned down the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s request for a reduced price. Mayor Davison expressed concern that, although the conservancy staff had described the property (the former Hewlett-Packard land) as open to public use, he had found the gate locked, with a ‘No Trespassing’ sign.

Sawmill Permitted

For a number of years, Wayne Selle has operated a small sawmill on a property at the corner of Murvale and Scanlan Roads, in Loughborough. Recently, he severed the property, and is proposing to move the sawmill from the lot it is presently on, to the adjoining 45 acre lot. This requires transferring the permitted sawmill use. Two letters to Council from neighbours expressed fears that this would interfere with their health, safety and the enjoyment of their property by creating heavy large-vehicle traffic, smoke, and ‘unbearable’ noise.

When questioned, Selle said the sawmill was a small operation, and at the most, might draw six half-ton trucks a week, and a larger truck once every two months. There will be no outdoor furnace or kiln at the new site.

Council approved the necessary zone change.

Massassauga Waste Disposal Site Closing

The Massassauga Site is slated to close on September 28. Further information will be posted on the Township website, and at the site by mid-August.

Public Consultations re Bedford, Portland Waste Disposal Sites

The Public Services Committee will share information and seek public input at two meetings: Bedford Centre on Tuesday August 21, and Verona Lions hall on Wednesday August 24. Both meetings are from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

Public Open House and Facilities Tour

Public Works Manager Segsworth announced there will be an official opening of Federal Gas tax funded projects at Keeley Road, Saturday September 29, from 10am-2pm. Come tour the Household Hazardous Waste Site, and the new Sand/Salt storage facility.

Could Black Become the New Omaha Orange?

“NO!” says Council.

A frequent topic resurfaced once again when Segsworth announced that one of three trucks ordered in early spring, the vehicle intended for his own use, is being built at a separate location than the other two. The plant where his vehicle is being built is not equipped to paint the truck Omaha Orange, the township colour.

Having in the past been disappointed with the poor results of repainting, Segsworth has directed the factory to paint the truck black, and add the Township crest to the doors. Council remains adamant that their trucks must be easily identified, and has directed Segsworth to have it repainted orange once it arrives.

MNR urges “common sense approach” in complying with new rules around grey ratsnake

The Frontenac Axis Grey Ratsnake provisions have been added to the Ontario Species at Risk Act. But, as Frontenac County Planner Joe Gallivan indicated at a meeting of Frontenac County Council on Tuesday, July 24, planning departments in the affected townships, which include Central and South Frontenac and Tay Valley, will use the new regulations “as a screening tool for planning applications, and not a prohibited development area.”

The mere fact that suitable habitat for grey ratsnakes is present in a certain location will not necessarily trigger any restrictions on development, nor will a ratsnake sighting.

Active nesting grounds, on the other hand, may be subject to restrictions and the rare sites that are known as hibernacula - places where there is confirmation that snakes over-winter in groups - will be subject to more stringent restrictions.

There is a 30 mere buffer zone around permanent nesting sites and a 150 metre zone around hibernacula.

“Officials with the ministry have told me that it is very rare that hibernacula for grey ratsnakes are identified, but they are important to the survival of the species” said Joe Gallivan.

Temporary nesting sites, such as man-made nesting sites, are not subject to the same level of restrictions as permanent nesting sites are.

Gallivan also said that mapping of grey ratsnake habitat and known nesting and hibernacula locations may be provided to township or county planning departments for their use, but that as with other information about species at risk, that information is not made available to the general public.

The reason for this is that these sites are important to the survival of the species and making them public might run counter to that intention.

The ratsnake, which is Ontario’s largest snake, is the subject of a public information event that is being sponsored by the Frontenac Stewardship Council tonight at the Verona Lions Hall (see Northern Happenings on page 10).

Speakers will include Tim Wood and Kate Pitt with the Ministry of Natural Resources. The event will include general information about the snakes as well as an overview of the new regulation.

Fairmount Auditorium redevelopment steps forward

Two items on this week’s Frontenac County Council agenda concerned the Fairmount Home Auditorium. While county council approved a mere $20,000 expenditure for architectural drawings and cost estimates for a project that will likely cost $2 million or more, it was also decided that the project will be central to an application for matching funding from a federal infrastructure grant as well.

The Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund will provide almost $50 million in grants to public infrastructure improvement projects in Ontario.

Frontenac County is applying for $1 million towards the Fairmount Auditorium project, with $200,000 slated to come from fundraising and $800,000 from the County and the City of Kingston.

County CAO Liz Savill said that while Kingston City Council has not yet been informed of the project, senior administration is “thrilled” that the county is seeking federal money to upgrade the shared county-city infrastructure.

If the grant is approved the estimated cost to the county would be $320,000 but according to a staff report, that figure would be offset by the fundraising dollars.

In discussing the auditorium project, North Frontenac Mayor Bud Clayton wondered why the project is pushing ahead when “two successive councils have said no to the project.”

South Frontenac Mayor Gary Davison took a different view.

“We’ve always felt that something should be done about it, but it has been a question of money. If we can get 50% funding, then we should go ahead. The auditorium is in need of repair.”

Warden Gutowski, and Councilors John Purdon and John McDougall all expressed support for Mayor Davison’s position. With Mayor Davison carrying two votes on council, the redevelopment project now appears to enjoy majority support on Council.

In the end, council approved both the application for a $1 million grant and the $20,000 expenditure on architectural drawings

Ompah project terminated – At a special meeting of North Frontenac Council on Monday, July 24, a bylaw was passed terminating the agreement between North Frontenac and Frontenac County to build a joint ambulance base and fire hall in Ompah. A similar bylaw was passed at Frontenac County Council on Tuesday.

“We’ll have to let the dust settle, and then revisit our ambulance base plans,” said Warden Gutowski.

Gone fishing – Frontenac Islands Mayor Dennis Doyle raised a question about the county's procedural bylaw because the warden unilaterally postponed the regular meeting of council. The meeting, which was originally scheduled for July 18 (the third Wednesday of the month), ended up being put off until this week, forcing Doyle to change his schedule because his colleague from the Islands, David Jones, was not available.

South Frontenac Mayor Davison said, “I was the one who facilitated that. I was given an opportunity for a fly-in fishing trip, and I took it. I think we still have a gentleman's agreement that if two members are not available the meeting would be cancelled, and John [McDougall - the other South Frontenac representative] had already said he would be away.”

“I don’t see how this fits our procedural bylaw. I had to change my schedule just to be here today. Councilor Jones [the other Frontenac Islands rep] couldn’t change his schedule. Why is that?” asked Doyle. “We should at least have been polled about this."

“In this case, I made the call," said Warden Gutowski. "I am aware it isn’t in the procedural bylaw, but we don’t always apply the letter of the bylaw. However, I was not comfortable doing it and I’m not sure I would do it in the future. We might want to reconsider our procedural bylaw to give clear direction on this kind of situation.” (See – "I’d rather be fishing, too")

August meeting cancelled – The council meeting scheduled for August 15 has been cancelled, as is customary.

Editorial by  Jeff Green

Let’s see.

You have a chance to go lake trout fishing, and maybe fish for arctic grayling as well, at a remote, fly-in location on Great Slave Lake in the middle of the Arctic summer, or you can go to a Frontenac County Council meeting.

I wonder what I would do?

No, I don’t wonder what I would do.

Were I mayor of South Frontenac or the Queen of England, I’d be out on the lake in a flash.

I’ve been on Great Slave Lake in July and I’ve been at county council meetings in July, and I can attest to the fact that Great Slave Lake is an infinitely better place to be.

That said, I think Gary Davison made an error. Not in going fishing, but in asking county council to re-schedule their meeting just because a representative from South Frontenac could not be present.

It’s not as if there was anything on the agenda that put his township at risk. And it’s not as if the rest of county council were likely to take advantage of the lack of representation from South Frontenac to act against the township's interests. As long as council has a quorum, they should meet. The budget is in place; nothing can happen that has not been approved in that budget; and while Davison had a compelling reason not to be at the meeting, he did not have grounds to ask anyone else to change their own plans.

If he had to miss the meeting because of a sudden illness, or family crisis, or the weather, maybe then re-scheduling would be viable, but since he had this last-minute trip dangling in front of him as a sort of bait, he should have said, “You guys go ahead and meet; I’m going fishing.” 

Ompah fire hall/ambulance project officially dead

The joint North Frontenac/Frontenac County building project, which was to bring an ambulance post and a new fire hall to Ompah, has been formally rejected by North Frontenac Council.

The project was not formally on the agenda at the North Frontenac Council meeting on July 16 in Plevna, but the results of a Phase 1 Environmental Assessment on the Ompah property where the ill-fated project was to have been located were presented to council.

The engineering firm that completed the assessment, MALROZ of Kingston, reported that while the risk of contamination at the site is low, they still recommend that further assessment work be completed before the site is cleared for use as a building lot for a public sector project.

The key paragraph in the executive summary of the report reads as follows.

“It is our opinion that the potential for contamination of the subject site from the observed debris and small stain is low, based on the highly limited and localized nature of these concerns. There remains a potential for impacts to soil and groundwater arising from the former use of the subject site as a gasoline station and snowmobile shop, given that previous soil sampling was limited to the UST nest and that groundwater sampling for contaminants of concern has not been previously completed. A Phase II ESA, including soil and groundwater sampling, is recommended to assess these potential impacts.”

Township CAO Cheryl Robson that when she contacted MALROZ after reading the assessment, they told her they could do a partial Phase 2 assessment, which might be enough to clear the site for use, at a cost of $27,900.

While construction costs for the joint project were to be shared between the township and county, the environmental assessments are being shouldered by North Frontenac alone.

“The $27,900 may be enough, we don’t know,” said Robson.

“With the costs of these assessments, we are now about $300,000 short for the entire project,” said Mayor Bud Clayton.

The construction part of the project, which has been managed by Frontenac County Emergency Services staff, has been pegged at $1.14 million in total, based on the winning bid in a Request for Proposal process. North Frontenac’s share of that cost is $734,000 because the fire hall would occupy about 2/3 of the building. The cost of the land and the environmental assessments are not included in that $734,000 construction budget. Earlier this year, North Frontenac Council had committed to spending up to $550,000 on the project, including all related costs.

“At some point we have to decide on this project. I suggest we force a vote on that now,” said Councilor John Inglis.

Inglis then proposed a motion that North Frontenac proceed with the joint fire hall/ambulance base project, and proceed with the environmental assessment on the property.

In a recorded vote, the motion was defeated 7-2. Inglis and Betty Hunter, who both represent the Palmerston Canonto Ward, which includes Ompah, were the only councilors who supported the motion.

Inglis then made a subsequent motion to proceed with the environmental assessment without going ahead with the building project.

“Since we own the property, I think it is our responsibility to make sure it poses no environmental risk to the public,” said Inglis, in supporting his second motion.

“We have already spent $4,000 on the first assessment, and this one is an additional $27,900,” said Councilor Gerry Martin. “The property is not even worth $30,000. I suggest we leave it alone.”

Council voted with Martin, rejecting the expenditure in a 6-3 vote. Councilors Hunter and Inglis supported the motion, as did Mayor Clayton.

It is not clear what this decision means for the future of ambulance service in North Frontenac or the future of the Ompah fire hall.

Trouble in County land

During his briefing to Council on county matters, Mayor Bud Clayton commented on County Warden Janet Gutowski’s “presidential” attitude.

“The warden [Janet Gutowski] has been accused of being ‘presidential’ in changing the date of the regular July county meeting,” said Mayor Bud Clayton in reference to an exchange of emails between members of County Council over the last week.

Frontenac County Council was scheduled to meet on July 19, but that meeting has been put off until next Tuesday, July 24, at 9 am, according to the Frontenac County website

“She decided to change the timing of a regular meeting, which she cannot do according to the procedural bylaw. She said she would follow the bylaw, but that she was still going to change the date of the meeting,” said Clayton.

Clayton also said that he had not been informed about the July 24 date, even though it was posted on the County website on Monday morning.

Sharp decline in building activity.

The total construction value of permits issued in the first half of 2012 was down by almost $1 million (33%) compared to the first half of 2011. The total for 2012, as of June 30, was $1,916,755, down from $2,866,175 a year earlier. It was in the months of May and June that the decline hit in earnest. In May 2012, permits were issued for $317,250 in construction, down from $837,896 a year earlier. In June 2012, permits for $485,920 were issued, as compared to $908,600 a year earlier. $24,732 in permit fees has been paid thus far in 2012, down from $34,460 at the same point last year.