Grumpy over splitting costs of road repair

South Frontenac Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth brought forth a recommendation that South Frontenac agree to pay $4,127 to Central Frontenac to cover half the cost of bringing up the level of what Segsworth described as a “private laneway driveway in the vicinity of Arena Boundary Road.”

Segsworth wanted council to make it clear, however, in submitting the payment that “any future maintenance requirements on this laneway/driveway will be the sole responsibility of the Township of Central Frontenac.”

The road in question bisects the two townships, and it contains a low spot which had been subject to flooding due to persistent beaver damming on private lands in South Frontenac and some land that is under the jurisdiction of the Quinte Conservation Authority.

The property owner, Gary Morey, claims that the road is a public roadway and that the township has maintained it in the past. He also claims that an agreement exists whereby Central Frontenac is supposed to maintain the road.

Central Frontenac spent $8245 on the road in recent weeks, and both townships have blown up beaver dams as well.

In his report, Segsworth said that South Frontenac had indicated to Central Frontenac “that we were prepared to work with them to haul gravel to build this laneway up. We were not aware that they were going to hire a contractor and request that South Frontenac pay half.”

“We might as well be neighbourly,” said Councilor Bill Robinson.

“It’s hard not to,” agreed Councilor Alan McPhail.

“I don’t think we can set the precedent of doing work on a private laneway,” said Councilor David Hahn.

“Years ago Portland did work on that road,” said Mayor Davison.

In the end council approved the expenditure. Councilor Hahn voted against it, and two councilors, Stowe and Filion, were absent from the meeting.

Snow Disposal – Council agreed to pay $2,000 to Peter Darling for the use of his gravel quarry near Sydenham as a place to dump snow that is removed from streets in the village of Sydenham. The location is closer for township trucks than the Loughborough dump, which was used last year.

Blue Box – Council voted to support the position taken by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario regarding recycling. The position is that manufacturers take 100% responsibility for the cost of recycling the products and packaging they produce, up from the current 50%.

Construction figures in – The total value of construction in the township was $22,204,000 in 2008, down substantially from 2007, which was a record year at $29,217,000. But 2008 levels were still higher than 2006 ($18,867,000) and 2005 ($22,363,000). Seventy-four new family dwelling were built in 2008, which is the lowest number in the last 9 years.

Sydenham Water Committee – Council agreed to reformulate the Sydenham Water Committee. The committee is being set up as a communication tool, Council said, and will likely be made up of 2 members of council and 3 from the public. CAO Gord Burns will set out the parameters and bring a proposed structure back to the next council meeting. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Councilors see their money slipping away

Consultant Rob Wood and Anne Marie Young, new Frontenac County Manager for Economic Development, addressed Central Frontenac Council on Monday night about the community consultations that have taken place as the county prepares an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP).

The plan is designed to, among other things, set out a framework through which the county would begin spending infrastructure money that it has been accumulating for the past four years.

The county has received about $2 million in gas tax money thus far, and will receive $800,000 per year until 2014. Aside from a few consultation exercises, including the current ICSP process, the money has been banked so far.

Rob Woods talked to council about the common themes that have emerged from the community consultations that have taken place. “We received a message from throughout the county that there is a kind of desire for people to be as independent as they can be, a real sense of kinship and pride about our rural lifestyle ... On the economic and ecological side, people favoured green industries such as growing biomass on low grade land, broadband, protecting our natural splendour and our water supply,” he said

The process will now be setting up task forces to look at five specific areas of concern, and a final plan is slated for presentation to the county by June. An orientation session is slated for Friday January 16, 2 p.m., at the Oso Hall in Sharbot Lake to kick start the task force process.

The areas that the task forces will be looking at include: economic development and communication, land use planning and communication, quality of life, infrastructure and energy, and protection of natural areas. The initiatives that the task forces identify as being key to the future of the county will be narrowed down over the next few months to be presented to county council for funding consideration.

Councilors Gary Smith and Frances Smith raised concerns about where the ICSP is heading.

“What is the statistical significance of the number of people that have been consulted through this process,” asked Gary Smith, “and who’s going to decide what projects are funded? Is it going to be the county or is it going to be the process?”

“It was not a statistical exercise,” Woods said. “We were trying to identify projects and bring out ideas.”

At this point Frances Smith intervened. “Will the gas tax be like an economic development corporation that will spend money on these projects?” she asked.

“They will look at the projects. The process will be fairly extensive. They will look at the projects that will take us forward towards the vision we have for the Frontenacs,” Woods said.

“Who will decide on projects?” asked Councilor Bob Harvey.

“I suppose the county,” said Woods.

Mayor Janet Gutowski said, “Many citizens have come out thus far and if councilors could come out to the orientation session on Friday, they would have a better idea about what is going on.”

“The county is going to become a funding agency with money that I understood was going to stay municipal. This is going to allow for not-for-profit or for-profit corporations to access the money, whereas in other counties the money stays with the municipality. This is one of the reasons why I haven't been attending these meetings,” Frances Smith said.

Councillor Gary Smith then pointed out that a year ago Central Frontenac Council put in a request to the County for $250,000 to fund a salt dome from federal gas tax dollars.

“We haven't heard a thing,” said Gary Smith. “Instead we hear you are going ahead with proposals that have nothing to do with municipal infrastructure.”

Rob Woods then said, “The part I was involved with in all this was to hear about what the community interests are.” 

Railway Museum committee wants council to take a stand

Gary Gilller, representing the 8-year-old Central Frontenac Railway Museum Committee, came to council to present a proposal for a multi-use cultural centre that would incorporate a railway museum and would be built on the site and in the design of the original Sharbot Lake railway station. The site is located across the road from the township’s current offices.

The project has been held in limbo for years over the availability of the site, but Giller said his information is that the site will be included in the pending sale of railway lands for the Trans-Canada trail, which runs though it.

The eight-page proposal, as well as appended drawings, is designed to deal with the township’s space problems (the public works department is currently housed in portables, and the council chambers in the current office have long been turned into office cubicles), and provide for a new library, which is something that the Kingston Frontenac Public Library has been looking for.

The plan that Giller brought forward includes a 1,000 sq. ft. museum, a 2,000 sq. ft. library, a 400 sq. foot meeting room, 500 sq. ft. of office space, and other rooms, totalling around 5,000 square feet of space, all housed in a replica of the Van Horne-designed Sharbot Lake train station. The rough estimate for the cost of the project, which was included in the proposal, is between $1.15 to $1.35 million.

The proposal quotes a township resolution, passed some six years ago, which said the project “would provide an important piece of infrastructure for the region, helping to highlight its history, and which would considerably enhance our tourism potential. Especially if, as conceived, it were to be located along the Trans Canada Trail.”

“I will leave this with you, on the hopes that you will consider it in the near future,” Giller said. “We are at a point now, on the railway committee, where we can only go so far until there is a commitment by the township. We can only raise the expectations on the part of our membership and the public so far without delivering.”

“I think your timing is excellent, with our budget coming up,” said Mayor Janet Gutowski, “I’d like to see council move closer to a decision on this.”

“I’m pretty negative about this project,” said Councilor Bob Harvey, reiterating his long-stated opposition. “With our own space needs and with our dollars I can’t see this happening at this time.”

Other councilors were more positive. “I’d like to remind Councilor Harvey that this could be a solution to our space problems,” said Councilor Norman Guntensperger.

Council will be holding a “visioning” or “brainstorming” session in the next couple of months to consider their space and recreational facility needs.

Salt Dome deferred – A request from Public Works Manager John Simcock to tender brushing and slab wall concrete production for a salt dome at the Olden dump site was considered. Councilor Purdon raised some issues regarding clearances at the proposed site, and council may want to go back to the engineering company to make sure the site is suitable. John Simcock was not in attendance at the meeting so the item was deferred until the next meeting when he will be available.

Kennedy letter, yea - Council received a letter from Terry Kennedy, who described how on December 27, township snowplow driver Dave Whan came to the assistance of a driver who had driven into the ditch on Price Road, and pulled the car out of the ditch before returning to his snowplow route. “I feel that you should be aware that Dave Whan demonstrated a strong community spirit and represented the township exceedingly well”, the letter concluded.

Kennedy letter, nay – Council also received a letter from Judy Kennedy, written on behalf of the Arden Recreation Committee, concerning what she described as a “serious situation at the [Arden Community] Centre.” Last fall, a trench was dug along the north wall of the centre to deal with problems with the foundation and septic system at the centre. “We were hopeful that an expedient solution would be found,” she wrote. However, over the next three months nothing happened and an exposed septic pipe led to a serious problem in the centre.

As of December 20 “the bathrooms reeked of sewage and the kitchen cold pipes were frozen,” and the Kennebec Recreation Committee was concerned that their planned New Year’s Eve Dinner and Dance, for which people had prepaid a $50 fee, would be ruined. Ken Scobie came forward to reconnect the septic pipe.

However the situation became critical on December 30, and Councilor Jeff Matson ended up working all day on what Judy Kennedy described as “a very disgusting job in freezing conditions”, making use of his own equipment.

“To have a situation where, apparently, staff left the township office for the vacation period, knowing this work was not done, seems irresponsible. In the end the evening was wonderful, but only because of Mr. Matson’s interventions.

Council agreed that the situation should have been dealt with but wasn’t. “We are going to have to take action and fix this up so we don’t have this problem again,” said Mayor Gutowski .

Heritage Festival – Carol Coupland attended the meeting on behalf of the Heritage Festival Committee. The festival is slated for February 19-22 this year. The tentative schedule includes a display of heritage life featuring the collection of Dr. Peter Bell at the Crow Lake Schoolhouse, an evening of events at Maples Restaurant, and outdoor events on the weekend.

Coupland asked council for a grant of $2,100, $500 of which is to be spent to transport school children to the display at the Crow Lake Schoolhouse, and $1,600 for eight wooden signs to publicize the festival. The signs are being designed to be reusable.

“Why eight signs?” asked Frances Smith.

“For the entrances to the different communities,” said Mayor Gutowski.

The festival takes place before the township budget will be passed, so the committee was seeking on the spot approval.

Council granted the money.

Juergen Reineke on roads - Juergen Reineke, from the Clarendon Road, made a presentation on winter maintenance and the general state of the roads in the township, which he said was not good. In particular he complained that some roads are being cleared by contractors’ small trucks, which he said is slower than township trucks and leads to a narrowing of the roads as winter snow piles up. He offered to sit on a roads task force if one were to be set up.

Councilor Bill Snyder said “I hate to say this with our Public Works Manager not being here, but when we started contracting out winter road maintenance I was concerned. In another year we have to look at this.”

Community Living parking - Duncan McGregor, who lives on the same street in Sharbot Lake as the Community Living – North Frontenac building, wrote a letter to council concerning parking by Community Living staff on Elizabeth and Garrett Streets. He claimed that the bylaw which permits cars to park at a 90 degree angle in front of the office cuts visibility for drivers and pedestrians, particularly in the winter, particularly since they block visibility to a Yield sign at the intersection.

Council was sympathetic to McGregor’s letter. “We should look at varying that bylaw, at least in the winter time,” said Councilor Frances Smith. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s not likely that all meetings of Addington Highlands Council in 2009 will be over in less than half an hour, but the first one of the year clocked in at only 20 minutes.

The meeting took place on the first real working day of the year and the agenda was limited to receiving correspondence and requests for support from other municipalities, paying some bills, and receiving a report from road superintendent Royce Rosenblath.

The main road issue that Rosenblath talked about was actually a bridge issue. The Flinton bridge is being rebuilt, and the old bridge has been removed, but the company doing the work has been delayed because water levels were up too high after the post-Christmas thaw.

“We are hoping the water levels subside and they can get back at it,” said Rosenblath.

Rosenblath added that over Christmas the township's six plow operators were fully occupied as all six trucks were out “just about every day.”

Deputy Reeve Helen Yanch took the occasion to mention that “I have not heard any service complaints so far this winter.”

Reeve Henry Hogg wants councilors to put their minds to the infrastructure needs within the township. “It looks like by the end of the month with the new federal budget there might be infrastructure money available. Anybody with any ideas should bring them to the next meeting,” he said.

Council will meet next at the Denbigh Hall on Monday evening, January 21 at 7:00 pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to HomeFeature Article - February 26, 2009 North Frontenac Council - By Jeff Green

Gunsinger for Order of Ontario

North Frontenac Councillor Elaine Gunsinger was feeling a bit sheepish about putting a particular individual forward to answer a call from Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor David Onley for nominations to the Order of Ontario. But other members of North Frontenac staff and council assured her she was not contravening any conflict of interest guidelines by proposing that the township nominate Bernice Gunsinger, Elaine’s mother-in-law.

In fact, according to Clerk-Planning co-ordinator Brenda DeFosse, Bernice had been nominated in a previous year, but had not been named to the order at that time.

“There is nothing stopping us from nominating her again,” said Mayor Maguire, “she is certainly a top candidate.”

In the call for nominations, David Onley asked a question, “Do you know someone who deserves recognition for extraordinary achievements, whose superlative contributions have had an impact on their local community, the province, our country or beyond?

Bernice Gunsinger's “impact on the local community” can be measured in many ways after about 70 years of community volunteer efforts. Council is now holding their meetings in a modern, spacious room overlooking a gleaming fire hall, for which over $100,000 was raised by the Ladies Fire Auxiliary, or the “Fire Ladies” as they were known.

Bernice Gunsinger was the first fire lady. She called the first meeting, and got the ball rolling. Just as a building is built one brick at a time, the Fire Ladies raised $100,000 one square at a time, or one cup of coffee at a time. They raised $50 here, $100 there, at community breakfasts and teas over years, banking money slowly over time.

“She started a long, long time before the fire ladies,” Elaine said, “she's been doing the same thing with other groups for decades.”

Township staff will look into preparing the nomination papers, which are due on March 16.

Becoming Elektra ...fied - Frank Roy, from Elektra Observatories, made his first appearance before North Frontenac council. The non-profit organization hopes to build a state-of-the-art astronomical observatory at Mallory Hill, which is located at the western edge of the township on the border with Addington Highlands on the Buckshot Lake Road.

As Roy has stated in presentations to Frontenac County, Lennox and Addington County and to local MPP Randy Hiller and MP Scott Reid, the location was chosen because it has the darkest skies in southern Ontario.

The observatory, which is named the “One Metre Initiative” because of the characteristics of the electronic telescope the group intends to build, would be remotely controlled.

“In order to preserve the darkness of the night sky, which is of critical importance in the observatory, Elektra seeks to have new bylaws enacted,” Frank Roy said. “This will also help in establishing the area as an International Dark Sky Preserve as defined by the International Dark Sky Association.”

So, while Roy is pitching the project as a tourism promotion opportunity for North Frontenac, he is also asking that none of this tourist infrastructure be located in the immediate vicinity of Mallory Hill itself.

There is a precedent for this, according to Roy. At Mont Megantic, in Quebec, a provincial park has been established near an observatory, and $10 million in tourism dollars is generated at that site each year.

There is a potential connection to Bon Echo Park. If 20% per cent of Bon Echo's 200,000 annual visitors came and spent $25 each it would generate $1 million” Roy said. He envisions that a visitors’ centre could be located somewhere on Highway 41.

Steve Smart, owner of Smart's Marina on Mazinaw Lake, was at the meeting and said “I have trouble getting my head around how the visitors’ centre could be that far away from the observatory itself.”

Frank Roy suggested that his focus would be on the observatory but that he would be open to ideas from the townships, the county, the local business communities and even the provincial government to capitalize on the promotional opportunities offered by the project.

“The key in Quebec was the buy-in from the provincial government,” said North Frontenac Deputy Mayor Jim Beam.

Frank Roy will be making a presentation at Addington Highlands Council next week, and is hoping to meet soon with Leona Dombrowsky, the Ontario Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

He suggested that a steering committee be formed to consider the economic potential of the project from a regional angle, and proposed that a first meeting be held in the coming months, perhaps in Sharbot Lake.

Deputy Mayor Beam volunteered to represent the township to the committee. He has been involved in establishing a township business group in recent months.

“This is like something that has just fallen from the sky; in other words it’s an initiative we couldn't plan any better,” said Mayor Ron Maguire, promising the township’s co-operation in enacting necessary bylaws and working with Roy to develop the project.

The Elektra Observatory now has $26,000 in seed money funding, $14,000 from the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation, and $12,000 from the members of its board of directors. It has partnerships with three universities, but must raise $2 million from the philanthropic sector in order to come to fruition.

“We will be operational three years from receiving funding,” Frank Roy said.

Concerns over telephone service – Council received a letter from Catherine Tysick of Northern Frontenac Community Services. The letter expressed a concern that came to Tysick from the agency’s Seniors’ Advisory Committee about interruptions to phone service in the Ompah-Snow Road corridor.

“As you can imagine this is of great concern to seniors who may need to access emergency services but cannot. The frail elderly are particularly at risk,” the letter said.

The township is planning to put in an emergency phone at the ambulance station at Lavant Road, which would be operational when other phones are not, and will consider putting another one in at another location.

“I think we should communicate with Bell,” said Mayor Maguire

Hall rentals for not for profits - Land O'Lakes Community Services has requested that the township waive rental fees for a fundraising supper, and a seniors’ group made a similar request for their Tai Chi classes. Council did not agree to the requests, but the cost to non-profit groups for community halls is only $15 for four hours, and this information will be forwarded to the two organisations. 

Back to HomeFeature Article - February 26, 2009 Central Frontenac Council - Feb. 24/09By Jeff Green

Duchene hits the ground running 

The first item of business at a meeting of Central Frontenac Council on February 24 was approving the selection of John Duchene as Chief Administrative Officer.

Deputy Mayor Gary Smith, who chaired the meeting in the absence of Mayor Gutowski, said, “When John Duchene was here for a year and a half as acting clerk, he did an efficient job, and now that he is here full time he can do a lot more”.

“I had an interesting conversation with myself just before Christmas,” Duchene said before the meeting, describing how he decided to seek a job that he had left just four months earlier. He was hired on an interim basis when Heather Fox took a leave of absence two years ago and held the job until August, when he resigned. His replacement, Mark Hall, left the job after a few weeks and the job was advertised again. This time John Duchene applied for it.

As the meeting wore on it became clear that many of the issues that were being faced by the township five months ago are still on the table, and Duchene presented Council with a draft issues report along with the unfinished business report that Council looks at on a monthly basis.

“This is my list,” Duchene said of the issues report, “I have not consulted with staff yet, but these are issues that I recall, and it is sort of a work in progress. I want to establish a team approach for this with department heads taking ownership over their individual budgets”.

Members of Council said they liked the list, but that didn't stop them from suggesting other items.

“One issue that's not here is salt storage in Piccadilly,” said Councilor Bob Harvey, “I think there is a big liability there; it is not appropriate where it is now”.

“You don't think the salt storage facility has solved the problem?” asked Councilor Norm Guntensperger.

“No, it hasn't. We are still exposed. It shouldn't have been there in the first place, and it should be moved now,” said Harvey.

Guntensperger had an issue he wanted to see brought forward. “An upcoming issue is the tracking of quantities: salt, gravel, etc.. We don't have paper trails as to how this stuff is moving; there is a lot of estimation and trust of the contractors involved ... More or less, sorta kinda is not good enough when you are talking about millions of dollars, in my opinion.”

Guntensperger said the township might have to consider purchasing their own weigh scales even if it is an expensive proposition.

Tenders for buildings and grounds maintenance contracts -

Contracts for grass cutting, hall maintenance, etc. are all up for renewal next month. In a report from Ian Trickett, chief building official, the value of all the contracts that are up for renewal was listed at $43,550.

Included in the new contracts in Sharbot Lake, for example, will be the grounds around the medical centre and the public washroom at the beach. The township is also now responsible for grass cutting and garbage pickup at the roadside park on Road 38 in Godfrey, grass cutting at the Crow Lake schoolhouse, and grass cutting at one of the fire halls.

The tender will recognise three categories of maintenance: grounds maintenance, custodial services, and for the first time, repair and maintenance services. In terms of repair and maintenance the township will be looking to find one or more general contractors who will be available for carpentry, electrical, or plumbing work at a fixed hour rate.

The tenders are to be granted by the end of March and will cover a three-year time frame, April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2012.

Township and Personal Vehicles policy - A proposed township and personal vehicles policy was approved by Council. The policy includes the following provision: “The use of a vehicle for private or personal reasons is prohibited. In particular, no vehicle may be taken home with an employee overnight or on weekends. A vehicle shall always be used strictly for Council business, unless expressly authorised to do differently by a resolution of Council. If any employee fails to observe this policy, disciplinary action will be taken.”

Art show – A request by the Land O’Lakes Artisan Guild (LOLAG) for permission to use the Sharbot Lake beach and Oso Hall for their inaugural “Art by the Beach” show was accepted by Council, although a request for free rental of the hall was not. The show, which will run on Saturday & Sunday, August 1 & 2, will feature the works of LOLAG members and also art students from Sharbot Lake High School.

Wedding at Long Lake – Councilor John Purdon had a few personal concerns about a request by Cristin Clark to use the beach at Long Lake for her wedding ceremony on July 11, with about 30 guests.

“It is a small beach,” said Councilor Purdon, “and if it is nice weather people will be swimming. It's not the place where I would think it is suitable to hold a wedding, with children shrieking and all that, but I don’t really have an objection to it; it's just my opinion”.

“You don't want to stand in the way of love, in other words,” said Deputy Mayor Smith.

Council granted permission for the ceremony to take place at Long Lake beach. 

Public meeting re: Long Lake re-zoning

David Welwood of Tunnock Consulting Ltd. presented a report to council with their recommendations regarding a proposal to re-designate lands located on the south shore of Long Lake currently designated as rural to waterfront residential. The lands are owned by Lynn and Leslie Cronk who were at the meeting. After explaining a lengthy list of the terms of provisional consent council accepted the report for information and with no further questions from either council or members of the public council directed staff to prepare an amending by law to be presented for consideration at councils meeting scheduled for June 14, 2011.

Mayoral PR spending

Councilor Tom Dewey proposed allowing the mayor a $200 cash float to be used in at her discretion for PR spending purposes. After some discussion staff agreed to look into how other townships handle Mayoral PR and return to council with a report since there is no official policy in place.

Bridgens Island division one step closer

Council passed a By Law to Adopt Official Plan Amendment #10 to the Official Plan allowing for the division of Brigden's island in Eagle Lake to be separated into 12 lots allowing for the 10 existing seasonal cottages to exist as their own individual lots and for two vacant lots to be used as common waterfront areas. Mayor Gutowski said after the motion was passed, “We're getting closer.”

Waste management

Council unanimously passed a Bylaw to establish and maintain and regulate a system for the disposal of municipal waste and to provide for the establishment of policies, regulations and fees for the disposal of municipal waste and garbage and other refuse.

The greatest impact from the new bylaw will likely be the introduction of a clear bag system, which is being done to ensure recycled materials do not find their way into landfill.

Instead of $1 bag tags, the township will sell clear bags, in two sizes. Standard sized bags 30” by 38” will sell for $1, and commercial 36” by 60” bags, large enough to fit in a 45 gallon drum will sell for $2.

The bags will be available in packages of 10, at the township office and at the waste sites.

There will be a break-in period before the clear bag system will be mandatory.

Formal approval of North Frontenac budget

A number of people attended the May 24 meeting of North Frontenac Council as Mayor Clayton introduced the 2011 budget estimates for formal approval

The final budget numbers had been settled earlier in the month. The township will be raising $450,000 more this year for their own spending, and will also be collecting $50,000 more in education taxes. For Frontenac County, the amount to be collected in North Frontenac is down by just over $70,000.

All in all, the total tax to be collected from North Frontenac ratepayers is up by 7.2% in 2011.

As Mayor Clayton explained, the increase is due in large part to putting more money into reserve funds that will be used to replace tangible township assets.

“The Municipal Act gives us rules that we must follow,” he said, “and the Public Service Accounting Board [a provincial body] has brought the most change into the operation of our municipality. We have to list all our tangible assets; define a life cycle for them; submit them to the board; and conduct our business with these assets in mind. We have put more money into reserves to reflect the replacement of our assets and stopped some of the spending of the past.”

Aside from increasing reserve funds, the township will be purchasing a new tandem truck this year, and money has been set aside for a new fire hall in Ompah

Official Plan – The township planner, Glenn Tunnock, appeared before council as part of the effort towards updating the township's Official Plan. He highlighted two issues where the will of council has put them at odds with the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs, the body that must approve the plan before it can be adopted.

The first issue is lot size, particularly for waterfront properties. The township minimum is 1 acre, but Tunnock reported that the provincial government has set 1 hectare (2.47 acres) as the standard.

This standard is in place to assure room for a septic system, even on rockier lots. Tunnock's report said that he believes a compromise is possible.

“0.8 hectares (two acres) with a 30 metre natural buffer from any shoreline in the township might be acceptable to the ministry” Tunnock said.

The other issue of concern is housing development on private lanes, which the ministry is not going to allow.

“Infill developments on existing private lanes may be permissible, but extending residential development on private lanes without a plan of condominium in place to ensure the lanes will be maintained adequately is not going to be approved,” Tunnock said.

Council received Tunnock's report for information.

Ompah Library Transitional Plan: Helen Forsey made a presentation to council from the Ompah Library Users Group. In addition to asking the township to pressure the library board to be more accountable to the township and the county and to reinstate the Ompah branch if possible, the users group is also looking at keeping the site of the branch as a public space after the branch closes.

“If the branch does close, we ask that the present Ompah Library site be made into a transitional Community Resource Centre for June to September. Install two township-owned computers along with seating, tables and bookshelves for book swapping and hire a summer student to manage the service. This low cost, short-term solution would allow for exploration of longer term options,” Forsey said.

Mayor Clayton asked the users to come up with the costing for the option they are advocating and said council will consider it at their next meeting.

It was also revealed that MPP Randy Hillier has written to the library board, urging them to reconsider their decision to close the Ompah branch.

Emergency Service Grants – The township has received grants from the Joint Emergency Preparedness Program (JEPP) of the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety. One grant is for $1,716 to help equip the Harlowe Hall as an alternate Emergency Operations Centre, and second is for $10,000 towards a portable emergency generator.

Fire Hall – Councilor John Inglis informed council that the Ompah Fire Hall/Ambulance base project is back on the front burner. He prepared a written proposal to set out a township position regarding how to break down operational costs for the building, which is the sticking point that is supposed to be ironed out before the next county meeting.

“I think we need to push this to county staff so it will get dealt with quickly,” Inglis said.

His proposal was put off to the closed session.

 

The Lights Go Up!

As a last item of business Tuesday night, and following a presentation by Mike Howe and Paul Wash concerning the Township’s recreational plan, Councillor McDougall rescinded his motion to delay installation of the lights on the football field at the point. All but McPhail supported a motion to proceed at once with the field lighting, and upgrading the irrigation of the field. Together, the community and the high school have raised over $31,000 toward the project.

Council also agreed that although the Point and its needs are high profile, township-wide there are many other recreational issues to be addressed. To this end, they also passed a motion to “allocate additional funding, from reserves if necessary, to extend the recreational coordinator’s position (presently three days a week) a further 16 hours a week until September 30.”

Mayor Davison reminded Council that concerns about parks maintenance, such as emptying garbage, putting out benches and picnic tables, etc, were a separate issue from recreation, and the responsibility of the various contractors recently hired for parks maintenance.

Community Improvement Policies

Council received a report regarding an official Plan amendment that would designate the settlement areas of the Township as Community Improvement (CI) areas, and that would establish CI policies to revitalize and redevelop land and buildings within these areas. Final approval will rest with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Stowe noted that Burridge and Salem should be added as settlement areas: this can be considered at the time of the Official Plan Review.

Recycle More Plastics

Mark Segsworth reported that a wider range of household plastics are now being accepted for recycling: all kitchen and bath containers and packaging, including “clamshell” egg, salad and berry containers, can now be successfully recycled. This should help increase the volume of waste diverted from landfill. Not included are plastic furniture (chairs, etc), toys, or hard plastics such as toolboxes.

 

Fire Chief Casey Cuddy reported that no tenders were received for repairing the roofs of the Northbrook and Denbigh fire halls. The request for tenders closed on May 13. Cuddy said he received some phone calls, and at least one person said they would submit a tender, but none were received. He, and other members of council, speculated that perhaps contractors found the job to be too small. However, Casey Cuddy also pointed out that a contractor must have proper insurance and WSIB coverage.

He asked Councilor Tony Fritsch if any of the contractors who are presently working on the Addington Highlands Community Centre (AHCC) in Denbigh would qualify, and Fritsch replied that several would.

Council decided to solicit quotes for the tender.

Casey Cuddy also reported that the department has received a JEPP (Joint Emergency Preparedness Program) grant for the re-wiring of a cable to the Denbigh fire hall. The grant covers 55% of the costs.

Deputy Reeve Bill Cox questioned a bill from Ronfeld Electric for work that was done at the Northbrook Family Health Team (FHT). He asked if anyone on council had authorized the work and was told that it was probably requested by the FHT.

Cox replied, “That’s fine, but they’re sending us the bill.” He then said that the township needs a facilities manager.

Reeve Henry Hogg said that Roads Supervisor Royce Rosenblath acts as the township’s facilities manager, but Cox replied that the township has so many buildings that the job is too big for the staff to handle.

Henry Hogg said that to pay Rosenblath to do extra work would cost $5,000 to $6,000 a year, as opposed to $60,000 a year to hire someone for a new position.

Cox reiterated that the township needs to have a separate facilities manager, as Rosenblath already has a full-time position.

Councilor Tony Fritsch commented that council needs to discuss the structure of the township, and council agreed.

Council approved an expenditure of $600 for design drawings for the relocation of the Denbigh library to the AHCC. The township will apply for a Trillium grant for the renovations to move the library, and also to create an accessible entrance and washrooms, and the drawings are needed to prepare estimates for the grant application.

Councilor Fritsch also reported on the progress of the work on the AHCC. The demolition and in-ground plumbing work has been satisfactorily completed and several tenders were received for the Architectural, Plumbing, Electrical and HVAC work, which will be opened on Friday. The Denbigh Rec Committee hosted a cleanup day on May 10

A presentation to council about a draft plan for affordable housing in the county has been tentatively scheduled for the July council meeting in Flinton. The presentation will be given by Prince Edward – Lennox & Addington Social Services (PELASS).

Council passed a motion to adopt the budget.

 

 

 

Editorial by Jeff Green

A month ago, Claudette Richardson, the Chair of the Library Board, a volunteer position, was asked if the board is currently considering closing any branches.

“Not to my knowledge”, she said.

So even though Ms. Richardson invited a number of library users from Ompah to the April library board meeting, it came as something as a surprise when, in the context of considering the request for the reinstatement of the lost two hours a week for the Ompah branch, as had been requested by the Ompah library users, a motion was made and passed to close the Ompah branch instead.

The closing is the first branch closure since the Frontenac and Kingston libraries amalgamated in 1998.

It marks a formal turning point. Until now, despite two reports that lean heavily towards branch closures, and the documented concerns of some members of the board and staff, the founding organizing principle of the old Frontenac Library has held: the local townships provided the space and paid for the lights, heat and upkeep, and the library provided the materials for borrowing, and staffing for the branches.

All this changed when, on a simple motion from the floor, the library board closed a branch. The library board mediates a partnership between the City of Kingston, Frontenac County and the local townships that all contribute financially to the KFPL, yet neither Frontenac County nor North Frontenac Council were consulted before the branch was closed.

It should not be that simple to close a library branch.

One would think that before closing a branch, a staff report would be presented to the board with specific reasons for the branch to close at this time, but that did not happen.

Instead of closing the branch, the board could have asked staff to prepare a report outlining the savings that a closure will bring, but they did not do that either.

This is not really the way a municipally accountable organization should have acted.

Ultimately, the library board has the right to close the Ompah branch. They had the right to say that the cost of providing service for a population of 500 people is too high for a library system that serves a population of 200,000 people to manage.

But the board did not make this argument to the public or to any of their partners. They simply acted on an impulse that has been in place for years and has become self-justifying over time. They did not demonstrate that the Ompah branch is a burden to the system and how much that burden amounts to, in real dollars.

In other words, they did not show what benefits, if any, will come the decision to close the branch. This leaves them open to the suggestion that they closed the branch simply because they don’t like it, and because they are fed up with hearing from the Ompah library users.

They also sent a message to politicians and library users in other Frontenac townships, who pay the facility costs of the branches, because the closing of the Ompah branch is inexorably tied to the decision by North Frontenac Council to upgrade the Plevna branch two years ago.

The message to the townships that is the when you invest in the branch in one community, the branch in a neighbouring community is doomed.

There are four branches in Central Frontenac and the board has indicated they would like to see a new branch in Sharbot Lake. For years, people from Arden, Mountain Grove and Parham have opposed any plans by Central Frontenac Council to build a new branch in Sharbot Lake, on the grounds that it would cost them their local branch.

The KFPL board has given a form and substance to that fear.