South Frontenac Sets 2% Increase

CAO Orr presented a summary of budget discussions to date, reflecting Council’s directions to staff. The bottom line came out at a decrease of 1.74% from the amount raised by taxation in 2009. There was general agreement that a decrease in taxation, particularly at the expense of the reserves, was not a good idea. Councillor Stowe noted that salaries and fuel costs are higher every year, and reminded Council of Public Works Manager Segsworth’s warning that after this year of large road grants, it may be difficult in the next few years to finance adequate road maintenance. Vandewal agreed that it was a bad idea to “rob the reserves”. Robinson noted that his constituents seemed to see a 2% raise as acceptable. Mayor Davison concluded that the consensus was to take less from the reserves, and bring the budget proposal in at just under 2%.

Orr drew Council’s attention to the fact that a position for a second full-time building inspector was included in the budget proposal. The March 24 COW discussion had shown support for the second building inspector (building inspection is self-funding, from building permit fees). Rather than hiring a separate facilities coordinator, it was hoped this position could also be used and charged back for any facilities coordination, during periods when construction was slow. Councillor Fillion was adamantly opposed to hiring a second building inspector, but others on Council pointed out that building starts during this first quarter are the highest they have been for the past three years.

A public meeting is scheduled for April 20 to present the budget and receive public comment. If at that time, there are no further directions from Council, the budget bylaw including the tax rates will be tabled for approval later that evening.

Perth Road Study

Works Manager Segsworth presented a detailed operational assessment of the Perth Road, undertaken because of the perceived high incidence of accidents. It highlighted four main trouble spots. Although the boat ramps were not on that list, Segsworth said they were of concern, (particularly Buck Lake boat ramp). He encouraged Council to review the report.

Planning to meet Development Pressures

In February, Council had asked for a staff report exploring how issues related to growth and development pressures might be addressed to minimize future friction between residents and developers. Township Planner Lindsay Mills brought a detailed report listing issues around the hamlets, particularly Sydenham. He recommended a planning committee of Council, which could lead to a planning study. Several councillors reacted against this, arguing that there had been too many studies already, this sort of planning was the County’s job, and that an election year was a poor time to start such a long-range project. Eventually, several councillors offered tentative support to the idea of a committee to look at the matter, but asked Lindsay Mills if he could first bring more information on how townships in neighbouring counties were addressing development pressures.

North Frontenac to bring in budget with 2.5% increase in levy

North Frontenac Council has completed their budget deliberations and will be approving their 2010 budget after a public meeting next Thursday morning.

The budget will include an increase of just over $90,000, or 2.5% in the total amount that taxpayers will be paying.

Included in the budget is an $88,800 contribution to reserves to be put towards the building of a satellite medical clinic in Plevna. Construction could start on the clinic later this year, pending approval by the Ontario Ministry of Health.

The impact of the budget on ratepayers will vary according to their individual property assessments.

The township building department has been working with the bylaw officer towards identifying existing buildings that have never been assessed by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation either through oversight or because permits were never taken out when additions or new outbuildings were constructed.

The resulting new assessment will help to diminish the burden of the 2.5% increase on the majority of taxpayers.

Further details about the budget will be released next week. The public meeting is scheduled for 9:30 am on April 22.

North Frontenac to stay with Health Unit for septic permits

North Frontenac Council has decided to maintain the status quo on septic inspections. Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington (KFL&A) Public Health will handle inspections related to new construction, while Mississippi/Rideau Valley Conservation will continue to operate a septic re-inspection program in the township this summer.

KFL&A Public Health had indicated they would stop offering the service, leading the Mississippi/Rideau to make an offer to cover all septic inspection requirements for the township.

However, at their February meeting, the Board of KFL&A Public Health decided to continue to offer the service, under a new pricing system that was revealed at the end of March.

Although the Public Health price for the inspection of new systems will go up only marginally, from $450 to $475, the cost for other services will go up substantially. For example, inspections for renovations such as sheds, garages and swimming pools will go from $110 to $450 in 2010.

The cost structure proposed by Mississippi/Rideau was different than that proposed by Public Health. It would be more costly ($650) for some of the inspections that Public Health will be charging $450 for, but cheaper ($225) for others. Mississippi/Rideau provides for all the septic inspection needs of Tay Valley Township and rural portions of the City of Ottawa.

Nonetheless, North Frontenac Chief Building Officer Eric Kohlsmith recommended staying with Public Health even with the price increase. His report to council summed up his thinking: “The CBO is recommending that the township continue our agreement with the Public Health as they provide prompt, excellent service; have extensive experience; background and documents are readily available; knowledgeable; local office; no complaints with present service; and when they were establishing the new fees for service, they totally understood the realistic requirements and actual cost of providing this service to the large geographic area in our municipality.”

More from NF Council -

Councilor Wayne good expressed concern about water levels on some township lakes that are near the headwaters of the Mississippi River watershed, and wondered whether the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) had been too slow to put in logs in place to dam up the lakes this year.

Deputy Mayor Jim Beam, the township rep to the MVCA, said that Gord Mountenay of MVCA has been managing water levels for the authority for the past 25 years and has a thorough knowledge about the requirements and dangers at both ends of the system.

“The logs were put in on March 10 this year, a month earlier than normal,” Beam said, “but the best thing would be for Gord Mountenay to make a presentation to Council.”

Mountenay will be invited to the next North Frontenac Council meeting, scheduled for April 22.

Private dump on Buckshot Lake Road – There have been reports that a privately operated waste site has been established at a property on Buckshot Lake road, either in North Frontenac or Addington Highlands. The matter will be referred to the Ministry of the Environment to investigate. 

Central Frontenac Taxes to go up by 9%

Acting on the instructions of Council, Central Frontenac staff went back to the drawing board and found some budget savings after the presentation of a draft budget in late March that called for an increase of over 30% in the amount of money the township would be raising through taxes.

The net result still included an increase of $532,000 in the levy for local taxes, from $4.38 million in 2009 to $4.91 million in 2010.

The impact will be somewhat mitigated by the amount that will be required for county and education taxes, but the average Central Frontenac ratepayer will see an increase of 9% in their 2010 taxes.

In explaining the need for more money, township clerk John Duchene prepared a report outlining shortfalls in the budget that have come about because of charges and losses in revenue that are out of the township’s control.

Among those was a decrease of $195,000 in the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) allocation to the township from the Province of Ontario. The OMPF is designed to compensate municipalities for costs that at one time were covered by the province. In addition, policing costs are up by $41,000, insurance premiums by $25,500, legal costs $20,000.

The budget also increases the expenditures on road equipment by $110,000 and includes a $60,000 increase in the cost of loans to cover the required municipal contribution to matching grants that the township has received from federal/provincial stimulus programs.

All told, Duchene’s analysis accounted for $467,500 of the $532,000 increase in the levy for Central Frontenac services.

The decreases in the levy in the final draft of the budget from the more expensive previous draft were found mainly through putting off the purchase of a tandem truck for the roads department ($232,000) a cut in $54,000 from capital projects that were requested by local recreation committees, and the inclusion in the 2010 budget of $315,000 in monies that were collected in 2009 but were not spent. As well, the purchase of a pickup truck for the facilities co-ordinator was cancelled, saving $25,000.

The amount of money held in reserve funds by the township is slated to drop below $2 million in 2010 for the first time in several years.

Although there were some large allocations in the budget, Council spent a significant amount of time discussing a proposal by Olden District Councilor Norm Guntensperger to add $15,000 to the budget for the Olden Recreation Committee to go towards moving the Olden ball diamond from its current location near the dump to a site near the new fire hall that is being developed as a community park.

Noting that other recreation committees had between $50,000 and $85,000 in allocated projects approved for 2010 while Olden had only $20,000, Guntensperger asked “Are Olden residents second-class citizens?”

While the new Olden Park is the subject of a community planning process that is now focussed on three possible layouts, Guntensperger said the ball diamond could be relocated to the park this year at a cost of about $15,000.

After a long debate, Council rejected Guntensperger’s proposed amendment to the budget, but several indicated that if the Olden Park project progresses to the point where more money is needed this year, it can still be found.

At the end of the afternoon, Mayor Gutowski proposed that the budget be adopted as presented.

“In order to mitigate these tax increases we would have had to cut services dramatically,” she said. “I think this council, this community as a whole, has really pulled together; many people are more educated now about what our needs are. I know we are going to get phone calls from people when they get their final bill, but overall, I’m very satisfied with the work that’s been done.”

Deputy Mayor John Purdon was less satisfied.

“Somehow I think we could do better than a 10% increase,” he said.

Councilor Norm Guntensperger said, “People do not phone me about taxes. They phone me about not getting the services they expect. We have to protect our services at any cost.”

In the end Council voted unanimously to approve the budget in principle.

A budget bylaw will be presented at the Council meeting on April 27.

SHABOT OBAADJIWAN CULTURAL CENTRE

The Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation is planning to build a cultural centre on a piece of property that is managed by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) under an agreement with the publicly owned Ontario Realty Corporation. The land is located between Highway 7 and White Lake, several kilometres west of Sharbot Lake

The MNR intends to issue a land use permit to the Shabot Obaadjiwan.

Even though jurisdiction over the land resides with the province, the township’s planning consultant recommends that the township request that the “Ministry, in cooperation with the Shabot Obaadjiwan, file an application for rezoning the lands for the cultural centre.”

Township Clerk John Duchene said that in his conversations with ministry staff, it was indicated that the ministry intends to co-operate with the municipality where possible as this project develops.

“What about building permits?” asked Deputy Mayor John Purdon.

“Right now we are at the planning stage. We’ll have to consider building permits later,” said Duchene.

Council agreed to send the letter, which begins by stating that the township is “pleased that the Shabot Obaadjiwan is proposing to build a culture centre in the Township of Central Frontenac.”

RAILWAY HERITAGE SITE:

In response to a site plan submitted by Gary Cooke with regards to plans for the railway display site across from the township office, including placing a caboose on the run of track at the site, Council decided to approve the site plan in principle with the exception of the extension of the culvert and the addition of fill to the wetland area, which will require an engineer and a certificate from the Conservation Authority.

MALONEY OUT, BUT SMITH STILL IN:

A letter was received by council from Patrick Maloney in which he submitted his resignation from a committee that is looking at the possibility of constructing a multi-use building at the location of the original Sharbot Lake train station.

In his letter Maloney said that the committee’s focus on the development of a multi-use centre where cultural interests and activities “could also be accommodated” is “not what was proposed in the township advertising, web site or inaugural printed agenda”.

Council accepted Maloney’s resignation with regret.

Councilor Frances Smith pointed to the second half of Patrick Maloney’s letter of resignation, which asks for her resignation from the committee. He objected to the way the options that the committee had identified were presented to the township council by Smith when the committee sent her to Council in order to clarify their mandate.

He also wrote, “Ms. Smith is parochial in the extreme and appears to lack any vision beyond the borders of Oso.”

Frances Smith offered to resign from the committee and asked that another member of Council replace her.

None came forward. “You have ample experience and are well equipped to chair that committee. It would be tough to really replace the experience that you have,” said Mayor Gutowski in asking Smith to remain on the committee.

Frances Smith agreed to stick it out.

WASTE AMNESTY – Council agreed to continue the practice of allowing one free ½ ton load to be dumped by each property owner. The dump attendants will have a list of ratepayers and will cross each one off when they use up their free load. The amnesty can be claimed between May 15 and October 17 this year.

HALF LOADS COMING OFF EARLY – The weight restriction on township roads will be coming off early this year, on April 19 (next Monday) because of the easy winter and dry spring weather. This will make Central Frontenac consistent with South Frontenac and Stone Mills.

$5,800 FOR SIGN AT TOWNSHIP OFFICE – The township accepted the bid by Donna Larocque for a new sign at the township office. The sign will be two-sided, and includes masonry work. It will cost $5,800, but the township will be eligible for a 40% rebate from the Land O’Lakes Tourist Association. 

Editorial by Jeff Green

Note on budget reporting – Local councils will be finalizing their 2010 budgets over the next month.

Covering budget debates presents a challenge because the different townships have different ways of calculating their budgets. From the point of view of the public the main concern is, how much will we have to pay, and what are we getting for our money?

One of the things we can look at is the total amount a given township is planning to spend in 2010 as compared to 2009.

But total spending will alter if that township has received major grants from the province in one year and not in another year, so comparing total expenditures from one year to the next can be misleading, and it doesn't tell us how much we will have to pay in municipal taxes.

We could look at changes to the municipal tax rate, which is the amount that is charged to us for every $100,000 that our properties are assessed for. However this does not account for property assessment increases. The average property has had its assessment raised by 10% per year by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC).

While some properties have greater increases than that and some less, on a global level if the local councils bring in budgets with a 0% assessment increase, they will actually be raising 10% more money from local taxes, and on average each taxpayer will be facing a 10% increase.

So, in our reporting of local budgets, the News has and will continue to focus on the “levy to ratepayers”, which is the total amount of money to be raised by taxation, as compared to 2009. So, if South Frontenac raised $10 million in 2009 for their own use, and will be levying $10.5 million in 2010, we can say that municipal taxes are up by 5%.

While this information, on its own, won't tell an individual reader exactly how much more they will have to pay, it will indicate if the individual townships are able to maintain an equilibrium between services delivered and the cost to deliver them.

So, if a given township requires an extra 2%, or 5%, or 10% in taxpayers` money, the council of that township should be able to show why that is the case.

It could be that labour costs or material costs have gone up; it could be that costs related to satisfying provincial regulations have gone up; it could be that a piece of equipment needs to be purchased and the cost is higher than expected; it could be that the council of the township would like to extend their services in a certain direction, or improve the roads and bridges. There are many reasons why municipal budgets go up. As taxpayers it is probably not reasonable for us to demand that taxes never go up. But it is reasonable for the public to expect that their elected council can explain why this is happening.

A further complication for local municipalities is that the bill that we receive from them includes county taxes and education taxes as well as their own municipal levy.

The local municipalities use a little more than half of the money they collect from us; the rest is transferred on.

This year the education and county levels are pretty flat, and it is the local municipal levies that will determine whether taxes are going up.

It is worth noting that urban municipalities congratulate themselves when they keep tax increases to 5%, whereas the goal for our municipalities is closer to 0% or 2%.

However, urban municipalities deliver services rural municipalities could not afford to deliver, and they can do that partly because of economies of scale, and partly because they have significant levels of commercial taxation to draw upon, whereas our rural municipalities have very little in the way of commercial real estate.

Public Health to continue septic approvals

Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington (KFL&A) Public Health will continue to provide septic approval services for building departments in Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Counties.

Senior staff at Public Health had been planning to pull out of providing the service, which is not offered by most other public health units in the province, and sent letters to local municipalities saying the service was going to be phased out by sometime in 2011. However, after a number of smaller municipalities and cottage associations objected, Public Health has backed down.

While Public Health Staff were moving ahead with plans to back out of the service, their board of directors had not made a decision.

One of the groups that spearheaded opposition to KFL&A Public Health getting out of the inspection business was the Skootamatta Lake Association in Addington Highlands. The township itself also wrote to Public Health saying they did not have the capacity to deliver the service themselves.

Janet Gutowski, who represents Frontenac County on the Board, and Helen Yanch, representing Lennox and Addington County, both committed to advocating for the service as an important rural outreach for Public Health, and at the February board meeting, they convinced their colleagues to stick with the service.

In a letter dated March 22 to Addington Highlands Clerk Jack Pauhl, Ian Gemmill, the Medical Officer of Health with KFL&A Public Health, said that the “Board of Health made the decision to continue to be the service provider for this program as a service to residents of the KFL&A area and to our municipal colleagues.”

Gemmill added that the Board of Health would be reconsidering the fee structure for the service, because the program does not recover all of its costs. Individuals who are putting in septic systems must take out a septic permit in addition to any building permits they require for new construction or renovations.

“I'm glad that is sorted out,” said Addington Highlands Reeve Henry Hogg in receiving the letter.

Other items from AH Council

Addington Highlands wants to prepare an offer to purchase the Denbigh School House from the Limestone District School Board for use as a satellite medical clinic for the Lakelands Family Health Team. The board has not responded to township enquiries regarding the property and the township will be trying to contact them again.

PUBLIC WORKS – Work has begun on the renovations to the Denbigh garage.

Proposed By-law Amendments

The Limestone School Board has requested rezoning of four properties on Mill Street, preparatory to construction of an addition to the west side of the present school. The Board now owns three of the four lots. However, these lots are part of the Sydenham settlement area, which is a plan of subdivision. This prevents adjoining lots from merging without the permission of a ‘deeming by-law’.

Township planner Lindsay Mills recommended that Council approve only first and second readings, until the school board has purchased the final property, a deeming by-law has been passed, and the Ministry of the Environment has been consulted.

The school plans to construct a 13,000 square foot addition to their existing building but doesn’t anticipate an increase in enrolment. There were no comments from the public.

OP amendment

Council was notified of an application for an Official Plan amendment, which would permit three additional residential lots to be severed from a property that had already had three lots severed in 2008. The lot in question is large, 108 acres, and the three earlier severances are more than a kilometre from the proposed new ones, which are within the hamlet of Hartington.

Planner Mills said the reason for considering this proposal is because the Official Plan encourages development within hamlets. Two residents, Hanna and Dennis Saunders, had questions about the process of gathering public opinion, and concerns that development might adversely affect their well. This is not one of the water areas identified as highly sensitive, but their comments will be forwarded to the Ministry, and they will be notified of the public meeting to be held later in the process.

Amendment to New Development Charges By-law

Council amended the by-law that sets residential development charges, to include recreation. As a result of transfers from police & library funding to recreation, the total charges will remain the same. There were no comments.

Committee of Adjustment at Odds with Planner on Groundwater Issue

Planner Lindsay Mills reported his concerns about a group of consent applications from four separate landowners to create ten new residential lots on Holleford road, east of Hartington. Although there will be no more than three severances from each parent property, they abut each other, creating a virtual subdivision.

This is an area noted to have highly sensitive groundwater. Quality is of particular concern: the soil is shallow, and underlain by fractured limestone, causing potential for cross-contamination. There is also potential for drainage problems, due to standing water.

Mills said he fears the Committee of Adjustment (C of A) is ready to approve these severances without further investigation of the water issues.

Councilor Bill Robinson said water quality could easily be treated, and the applications should be passed. Councillor Larry York agreed, noting that there would have been no question if these severances had come one at a time. Councilor David Hahn said he thought the C of A was about to ignore the policies of Council, and their planner’s advice. All three are members of the Committee of Adjustment. The mayor referred the issue back to the committee, which meets next week.

KFL&A Public Health

At the township’s request, the Public Health Unit will continue inspect new and replacement septic installations for the Township, but fees will rise, to cover their full costs.

The township will clear snow from Crotch Lake Access Road. It's only a short stretch of road, but it has been the subject of much debate on council, and was the spark that led the development of a roads committee that met for over a year. Finally, Karin and Terry Reynolds will have winter maintenance on their road.

The Crotch Lake Access Road has been seasonally maintained until now, but Karin Reynolds applied to council two years ago to have winter maintenance extended past their house because they have established a year-round residence.

The township has resisted, wary of setting a precedent for extending maintenance on other roads and on private lanes, and out of concern for the impact on township equipment since the turnaround at the road is tight.

According to Councilor Wayne Good, the township's lawyer has warned against the move, and Clerk Brenda Defosse said that an agreement was signed by Karin Reynolds’ parents, the previous owners of the land where the Reynolds built their house, when the lot was created and sold to them, accepting that the road would only be seasonally maintained.

In a recorded vote, Councilors Good and Fred Perry opposed extending maintenance to Crotch Lake Access Road, while the remaining four councilors and Mayor Maguire supported it.

The township will invest approximately $2,000 in creating a turnaround for their trucks past the Reynolds’ place.

ONE METRE INITIATIVE – Council confirmed its support for the proposed observatory at Mallory Hill on the Vennachar Road. A letter from the project’s proponent Frank Roy asked for a further written commitment on the part of the township to promote the development of B&Bs and other accommodation opportunities for visitors to the township, which are lacking at the moment.

Roy wrote to council that the lack of accommodation would limit the Return on Investment that is important as the project is being promoted to investors. “The key here is to show investors that the township is 100% on board and wants to move this forward in a decisive way,” he wrote.

Council agreed to draft a letter of support, and will pass it by their solicitor before releasing it.

“The township has been waiting for years and years for something to happen,” said Councilor Elaine Gunsinger, “and it's hard not to get excited about this. It's rather amazing, actually.”

SEITZ NOMINATED – The township has nominated Stan Seitz for recognition as a Senior of the Year by the province. Seitz is a senior Olympian, a volunteer in the township in various guises, and a long-serving member of the fire department. 

A company based in Sault St. Marie is planning to transport an out-of-commission Great Lakes barge to Frontenac County and convert it to a seniors’ housing complex.

The plan, which is still in its early stages and will need to clear a Class 5 Environmental impact study, and a separate study concerning septic requirements, was presented in preliminary form at a Central Frontenac Council meeting last week.

“The shipping business is not what it used to be,” said Gerry Westheim, the project proponent.

Westheim, a real estate developer from Sault St. Marie, said he hopes to transport a

405’ long by 35’ wide barge, The Ruby Star, to a shipyard in Toronto, where it will be disassembled for dry land transport to Sharbot Lake.

“We have specially trained crews to do this work, and it will take three weeks to put the boat back together at its new home.”

Westheim’s plan is to permanently moor the boat in the west basin of Sharbot Lake, near the government dock, and then hire local contractors to build one and two bedroom seniors’ apartments on the deck of the barge.

“I have experience with this kind of project in the Netherlands and thought it would work just as well in Lake Country, where there is a shortage of waterfront property but no shortage of water,” he said.

Tentative plans are for a three-storey modular complex, on the model of the Habitat housing complex in Montreal.

He said he hopes to have 100 – 150 units available for lease or purchase within three years, but members of Central Frontenac Council said there would be zoning requirements to deal with first.

“I’m supportive of this idea,” said the Mayor. “It could be the kind of boon Central Frontenac needs, but we must go slow. Planning for this will be difficult because it is unprecedented.”

The township planner said “barge developments of this sort are not contemplated in the township’s Official Plan. There is no reference to anything like it, so it will require extensive study by all commenting agencies, not only the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority but perhaps Fisheries and Oceans as well.”

Westheim said that special aquaculture techniques and materials will make the barge a boon rather than a hindrance to the Sharbot Lake fish population.

As well, a separate, smaller barge, will be brought in as a kind of floating septic holding tank, which will be emptied monthly in a secure, on shore, environment.

“There is no chance that the lake will be compromised,” he said.

The Mayor talked about the benefits of this project for the local economy.

“Not only will the tax base be expanded, but the barge will be located only steps away from local facilities, and it will provide an opportunity for lakeside living for a new cohort of people,” he said.

“It is a stress free way for people to enjoy the water,” Westheim said. “The complex will also include a health club, shuffle board, and swimming opportunities.”

The project is targeted at a group that Westheim described as the “moderately wealthy”, with condominium units selling from $150,000 and up. Westheim said that he has also been in contact with public housing officials locally and in Kingston to explore the possibility of a public housing component to the project provided provincial construction grants are available.

Waterfront property owners on the west basin of Sharbot Lake got wind of the proposal the day before the council meeting and a small delegation was on hand.

“We think this is a dangerous proposal which would set a terrible precedent,” said Sharbot Lake Property Owner’s Association (SLPOA) Past President Earl McRary. “The impact on the lake of hundreds of new people alone will be staggering, and what of the winter ice. What if these people get stuck on the water and can’t get off.”

Gerry Westheim said the barge would be entirely stable and would be able to withstand the four seasons, and would be environmentally benign.

“This is a green project, using the latest, tested technologically. It is a LEAD project,” Wesheim said

“I don’t think the township should agree to putting seniors on barges,” McRary countered, saying that the project will be opposed “at every turn” by the SLPOA.

Undaunted, Westheim said he will be preparing applications for zoning bylaw and official plan amendments and will be contacting all the relevant authorities in the near future.

“We will meet or exceed all zoning and environmental requirements,” he said.

“We should not be putting the elderly onto barges,” said Mcrary, shaking his head.

The South Frontenac Committee of the Whole convened at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, to complete their work on the 2010 budget.

When they went into the meeting the budget called for an increase of just under 2% in the amount to be levied against taxpayers, and that’s where they ended, but it was anything but a smooth ride to that conclusion.

The discussion became acrimonious over the issue of funding the collection and disposal of household waste.

All did agree that this area was difficult, for in this first year as a fully amalgamated

service in South Frontenac, no one can be certain of the actual costs of extending waste pickup (garbage and recycling) to almost all township residents.

To make matters worse, councillors reopened issues that had earlier seemed resolved.

Disagreements included: the definition of net waste management expenses, the number of bag tags to distribute, the cost of additional tags, whether to charge all

residences equally for pickup, how much to charge for pickup, etc..

Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth pointed out that while MPAC showed 9,698 assessed residences in the township, once apartments are factored in, there are more than 10,000 garbage producing households.

The meeting descended into a bit of a name calling session when Mayor Davison described a voting block made up of the Councillors from Storrington and Portland Districts as “the blind leading the blind.”

Councillor Bill Robinson took exception to this characterisation, but Davison would not back down.

“I stand by my comments,” he said.

Councillor John Fillion then asked that the Sustainability Committee, which has been working on waste management issues, be disbanded. Councillor Bill Robinson then suggested the meeting be adjourned.

Finally the Mayor called a halt to the debate.

Councillors Hahn, McPhail and Vandewal asked if a compromise was possible.

Eventually, Council arrived at one that passed a straw vote: fifty bag tags a year will be issued, and all tax bills will carry a $100 waste fee.

All other costs will be covered by sale of additional bag tags and income from recycling, with any overage to be drawn from township reserve funds, which have already been depleted by $100,000 to cover waste management costs while keeping the tax raise to a minimum.

The roads budget is also high this year, because of sizeable upper-tier government grants the township has received that must be matched by municipally raised dollars.

Councillor Hahn said that by drawing down road reserves and not raising taxes in that area, next year’s council will be faced with a seriously under funded roads department.

Councillor Fillion called the roads budget “too aggressive, and a waste of money.” Both he and Councillor Larry York said they didn’t agree with having a 5-year plan for roads.

Mayor Davison retorted, “We should be proud of the state of our roads: all our ratepayers use the roads.” The other councillors agreed, and several noted that the five-year plan is not rigid, but is intended to be reviewed and updated each year.

The proposed budget will be presented to a required public meeting April 20th, following which, Council will likely vote to accept it (unless there are strong objections from the public.)

None of the evening’s events altered the bottom line of a 1.98% increase over last year in the amount to be raised by taxation. This figure has been achieved by a combination of budget cuts and drawing down reserves.

Ratepayers will see varying changes to their tax bills as the result of this budget, as their own property assessments will also factor into how much they will have to pay.

With the deadline for nominations still six weeks away, a contested election for at least one council seat in North Frontenac is now assured.

Ward 2, the former township of Clarendon and Miller, now has three candidates for two seats on Council. Incumbent Elaine Gunsinger is seeking election (she was appointed when the late Wayne Cole stepped down), and former councilor Betty Hunter is running as well. Hunter ran for mayor last time out. Paul Thiel, a newcomer to North Frontenac politics, has put his name forward as well. Also of yet, only incumbents Fred Perry (ward 1) and Bob Olmstead (ward 2) are running, and the only mayoral candidate is Jim Beam.

In Addington Highlands, Lawrence (Larry) Pealow has announced for Council in Ward 2, joining Bill Cox. Reeve Henry Hogg is also seeking re-election. No candidates for the two seats in ward 1 have come forward as of yet.

In Central Frontenac, there are now candidates in all four wards, but the only race that is under way is the one for mayor between Incumbent Janet Gutowski and former Kennebec councilor Logan Murray.

Justin Gray recently put in his papers, making him the first candidate for the two Olden seats. Tom Dewey is the only candidate for Kennebec, and Wayne Millar and Richard (Rick) Greenstreet are both seeking the seats in Oso district. Philip Smith from Hinchinbrooke is the only incumbent member of council who has put his name forward thus far, and Anne Goodfellow is seeking another term as school board trustee for North and Central Frontenac and Addington Highlands.

There have been no new nominations in South Frontenac over the last three weeks, but as we reported on July 8, there are already enough candidates to ensure a contested election in all districts and for mayor and school board trustee in that township. For a complete list, go to township.southfrontenac.on.ca and click on the municipal elections tab in the middle of the list on the right hand side of the page.

In Tay Valley Township, it looks like there will be a race in Sherbrooke Ward (where Maberly is located) as Incumbent Roxanne Darling, former councilor Mark Burnham, and Dave Campbell have already come forward. Keith Kerr is seeking re-election as reeve and Susan Freeman as deputy reeve. They are uncontested thus far.

In contentious Lanark Highlands, where a split council has been in place for four years and the staff have recently been certified by OPSEU, there are no candidates thus far in ward 6, where Elphin and McDonalds Corners are located, and no candidates for mayor. There is at least one candidate in each of the other five wards. There is one council seat per ward in Lanark Highlands.

Nominations close on September 10 in all municipalities in Ontario, and until that time candidates can enter the race, drop out, or switch from seeking a council seat or mayor/reeve position.