Photo: Toots and Bob Harvey, at home.

When Central Frontenac Township Council held the final meeting of the 2006 mandate, council said goodbye to Bob Harvey, who has served on council for a total of 19 years, including six as a councilor in Oso Township and 13 as a councilor in Central Frontenac.

Bob Harvey joined council in 1981, eight years after his father William Harvey retired as reeve. William Harvey had been reeve from 1958 until 1974, after serving one term on council between 1953 until 1957. The Harvey family has therefore been involved in municipal politics in the Sharbot Lake area for well over 50 years.

“I considered taking another run for mayor this time around,” said Harvey from his home, which sits on a hill across the road from the township office and affords a good view of Sharbot Lake, “But the timing is not right. I have some family concerns, young grandchildren, and other things to deal with, so I stepped off council instead. But that doesn’t mean I won’t come back in four years. I haven’t ruled that out.”

Bob Harvey’s family lived in Perth when he was born in 1940, and they moved to Clarendon in 1947 when William Harvey bought the Clarendon store, located near the Clarendon K&P railroad station (both buildings are still standing).

Bob attended the one-room Clarendon schoolhouse and later Sharbot Lake High School, but he left school before graduating and moved to Toronto. He worked for a year in a rail yard and then for McNamara Construction for three years driving heavy equipment.

At 21, he married his wife Toots, who is a member of the Keirstead family that is so well known regionally as painters. He worked for a year to put himself through barber’s college. The Harveys returned to Sharbot Lake when Bob was 23, and he set up shop as a barber in a building across from the train station.

Over a few years Bob purchased the lot where his barber shop stands now. He built the barber shop and pool room in 1967. Between 1967 and 1991 the Harveys lived further up Elizabeth Street, before they built their house on the hill behind the barber shop.

In the meantime, Bob got into a lot more than hair. He bought and sold furs and ginseng, raced horses, and bought and sold a number of properties, often buying lots and houses in tax sales around Ontario.

“I feel pretty fortunate to have come into a small town with nothing to my name, and be able to make a decent living and raise three boys.”

Even though Harvey travelled around, he has always considered himself as a small business owner in Sharbot Lake. “I went into politics for the same reason that I stayed in it, because the welfare of the town and the surrounding areas was important to me and to my family and my business, and I thought that I could help improve things. If I ever didn’t think I could do any good I wouldn’t be there,” he said.

One of the things that frustrates Harvey about council, and has always been an issue, is a lack of forward-thinking planning. “If council does not have a set of long-term goals for the township, then they will always be fumbling along, and never moving forward.”

He points to the Town of Richmond, as an example. “When they built a fire hall, they put a brick face on it, and put a clock tower on top of it. Now they didn’t do that just to spend money, they did it so young people could look at the fire hall and see that the town has some pride, that it wants to be something. Now there is nothing wrong with the fire hall we built over on Wagner; it’s a good building. But it is a tin building. It has nothing to mark us as a community.”

He also has argued, repeatedly, that the township should purchase some land, so when opportunities for housing projects come available, the township can participate.

In terms of the direction of the current township and county, Bob Harvey is hopeful, but in his view at least one mistake was made when Frontenac County Council was reformed: South Frontenac Township received a second vote.

“That kills everything; it kills the idea that everyone is equal, which is something that worked for a hundred years. Back before amalgamation the reeve of Kingston Township used to complain that he had one vote, and the reeve from Palmerston Canonto had one vote. But they were all there for everyone else, not their own corner. With two votes, South Frontenac is given leave to worry only about their own interests; that’s not the way to build anything,” he said.

Still, Harvey wishes council the best, but if they head in the wrong direction, they can expect to hear from the house on the hill above the office.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Bob Harvey said, “I can still express my opinion."

Editorial by Jeff Green

When Frontenac County Council meets next week, it will be a much different body than the one that met one month ago.

The two most experienced members of that four-member council of mayors will be gone, and the two remaining mayors, Janet Gutowski and Gary Davison, will be joined by six new members, Mayor Dennis Doyle from Frontenac Islands, Mayor Bud Clayton from North Frontenac, and one member of council from each of the four townships.

Since amalgamation in 1998, the main functions of the county council have been to act as a watchdog over any discretionary spending the county does, and to represent the county’s interests on a number of bodies that the county pays into or has an interest in. The library board, the Health Unit board, the liaison committee with the City of Kingston, and the Eastern Ontario Warden's Caucus, a regional lobby group, and a number of other bodies have representatives from county council on them, and the representatives report back to county council each month.

What has been missing from county council is political direction, and if the new eight-member structure was worth the trouble of setting up, that is what it will bring about.

Until now, county staff has presented reports and proposed initiatives every month or two, while county council acted as a gatekeeper, saying yes to some initiatives and no to others and watching costs. What has been lacking is any sort of vision coming from county council itself.

Are trails a priority of county council? If so, how large a priority? How much should be spent on developing Green Energy in Frontenac County? Should Frontenac County consider increasing support for local social service agencies? Should the county help its member townships with the costs of maintaining major roads and bridges?

These kinds of decisions should rightly be made at the political level, by county council, as they are policy decisions.

Implementing the policies in an efficient fashion and informing county council about cost limitations, that's the job of county staff.

The first order of business for county council next week will be the selection of a warden, and it is likely that the job will go to Central Frontenac Mayor Janet Gutowski. Mayor Davison from South Frontenac was the warden this past year and he has indicated he has cut enough ribbons for now, while the other two mayors are brand new (That being said Dennis Doyle has been attending county council meetings for a couple of years so he will be more familiar with the county than most new members). The four non-mayors will not be eligible to run for warden.

Although it has been the practice for the warden to step down every year and be replaced, there had been some debate about that practice, and Janet Gutowski might be in line to keep the job for the entire term.

This would be a mistake, in my view.

The argument for lengthening the term of the warden is that it takes about six months to become comfortable with the role, and then the time is almost up; also that outside agencies and governments can never put a face to the county because that face is always changing.

However, rotating the warden, at least for four more years, would allow for a more open process of change at the county level. The warden has a lot of power to set the county agenda and since one of the main tasks of the new council will be to determine a political direction that they can sell to their own township councils, keeping things fluid by changing the warden every year is probably a good idea. 

 Close vote for County Rep

By Jeff Green

The new South Frontenac Council got off to a very civilized, almost formal start on Tuesday night, with most members of council decked out in suit and tie to take the oath of office.

To save time, Township CAO Wayne Orr asked the entire council to stand up and read out the oath at the same time. They were not exactly in unison, but they got through it.

The new council made every effort to establish a tone of respect and harmony, a marked contrast to some of the no-holds-barred debates that have been a feature of South Frontenac Council for several terms.

However, this attempt at decorum could not paper over the divisions that surfaced when it came time to select a second township representative to join Mayor Davison on Frontenac County Council.

Before conducting the election, CAO Orr asked council to approve the election process that he had circulated in advance.

The election started with a call for nominations, which required a nominator and seconder for each candidate.

Portland Councilor Bill Robinson was first off the mark, nominating his rookie Portland colleague John McDougall, seconded by Loughborough Councillor Allan McPhail. McDougall accepted the nomination.

Bedford Councilor Del Stowe then nominated Loughborough Councilor Ron Vandewal, seconded by Storrrington’s Larry York, and Vandewal accepted the nomination.

Both candidates were given an opportunity to speak before the vote was conducted.

John McDougall talked about some of the failings of the relationship between Frontenac County and its member municipalities, citing the recent decision by Frontenac County to do a Community Improvement Plan for Verona without consulting anyone from South Frontenac Council. However, he also said, “It is my belief that a collaborative, thoughtful relationship with the county will yield benefits for all of us.”

Ron Vandewal was bit harsher in his attitude, citing some of his experiences over the years when he was invited, as a township councilor, to county meetings but was then told he could not participate in the discussion. “We need more transparency and more dialogue, more input from our council on major decisions. If the county is creating a new position there needs to be enough lead time so that our council can be informed before the vote is taken, because at the end of the day it our South Frontenac ratepayers who pay most of that salary,” he said.

When it came time to vote, each member of council had the opportunity to vote yes or no for each candidate, leaving open the possibility of each getting majority support.

In the end everyone supported only one candidate, and John McDougall won the position in a 5-4 vote.

For the record, Councilors McDougall, Robinson, McPhail, Cam Naish and Mark Tinlin said yes for John McDougall, and Councilors Vandewal, Stowe, York and Mayor Davison supported Ron Vandewal.

The county representative position is a four-year appointment.

By Wilma Kenny

Mayor Davison opened the meeting with congratulations to the Sydenham High School football team, the Golden Eagles, for their excellent performance this year: “A big part of South Frontenac is our high school, and they represented us very well,” he said.

Public Meeting re Wolfe Lake Property

Planner Lindsay Mills introduced a public meeting to review a proposed application for an Official Plan Amendment that would re-designate an area from ‘agricultural’ to ‘rural.’ The area in question is 178 acres, divided into seven parcels of land, lying between Wolfe Lake, Westport Road, and Hanna Road. A re-designation would mean the land was no longer set aside solely for agricultural use, and would become eligible for possible residential development. (Any future land divisions would be subject to public review.) Part of the presentation included a letter from the president of the Wolfe Lake Association, asking about opportunities for public input, but no one spoke on their behalf.

Mills noted that in several ways, this land does not conform to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) standards for prime agricultural designation. It is relatively small; ownership of the area is fragmented; there is only one small farm in the area, and it is on the edge of the shield, so parts of it are sloping, wet or rocky.

Council received the report. No Official Plan Amendment can be made until the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing gives their approval.

Private Lane Upgrading Program

Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth reported that there has been “an overwhelming response” this year to the township’s program to help subsidize public lane improvements. The program was introduced three years ago with the intent of improving access for emergency vehicles, but this has been the first time it has been available outside Bedford district. Twenty lane associations qualified for assistance: in order to distribute the budgeted $40,000 equitably, first-time applicants received 40% of the amount they spent on road improvements, those which had received previous subsidies got 25%, and one lane Burega Lane, where the residents invested almost $40,000 on improvements, got a 20% rebate.

If we gave the Burega Lane residents a 40 or 50 per cent subsidy there would have been no money left for everyone else. We tried to do the best we could for the most people,” Mark Segsworth said.

In summary, Segsworth said he felt the program was valuable, but it was time to review and refine the criteria. He will present his recommendations at the 2011 budget. Several councilors agreed with the need for more clearly defined guidelines. They passed a resolution to pay the subsidies as recommended.

Deputy Mayor appointed

Mayor Davison recommended council follow the tradition of appointing the councilors who received the highest number of votes in each of their districts as deputy mayor for one year each. Mark Tinlin took the oath of office for the coming year; he will be followed by McDougall, Naish and Vandewal.

Meeting Schedule changes

Council agreed to cancel the December 28 Council of the Whole meeting, and the January 4 council meeting. Both January 11 and 18 will be council meetings, and January 25 will be a Committee of the Whole meeting.

Photo: New councilors for Central Frontenac l-r, Tom Dewey, Heather Fox and Wayne Millar

At Central Frontenac Township’s inaugural council meeting in at the community centre in Mountain Grove on December 7, three new councilors, Tom Dewey, Heather Fox and Wayne Millar joined the team as all members were treated to a performance of Sisters of the Drum, a First Nations blessing and prayers from Danka Brewer, and prayers by Reverend Barbara Mahood. Each then proceeded to take their oaths of office.

The mood was celebratory and each spoke in their own way of looking forward to the work ahead of them. Mayor Janet Gutowski highlighted the hard and serious work ahead, listing the needs of the community regarding seniors, planning for the new school, park and recreation development, the K & P Trail and also taking advantage of community opportunities, namely the two schools that are closing and broadband internet.

Next it was down to business and elections. Councilor Jeff Matson was nominated by Councilor Frances Smith for deputy mayor and as no other nominations were made, he was elected unanimously. Matson commented after that he was “surprised that were no other nominations” but feels great to have been appointed and is looking forward to stepping up to the increased responsibilities. Councilor Bill Snyder nominated Councilor John Purdon as Central Frontenac’s second appointee to Frontenac County Council and he was voted in unanimously. Considering the new challenges ahead, John Purdon said, “I'll be learning them as I move ahead but I know that communications has been a problem in the past.”' He continued, “Other issues? Perhaps the spending for the gas tax funding and making sure that infrastructure projects in this township in particular and in others get done and that we spend some of the money in that direction.”

The councilors, along with their friends and families enjoyed refreshments following the meeting, which as Councilor Frances Smith pointed out, “will likely be the shortest one we have in the next four years.”

Long-time Addington Highlands Reeve Henry Hogg read a short statement at the outset of a new council term in Flinton on Monday afternoon. He took the opportunity to welcome three new members to the four-member council: rookie councilors from Ward 1, Tony Fritsch and Adam Snider, and Bill Cox from Ward 2, who served once before between 2004 and 2006.

One initiative that Reeve Hogg made specific reference to was the Denbigh School project. The purchase of the school by the township is imminent, and converting it for use as a medical clinic and possibly a recreation centre as well will have to be budgeted and managed by this council.

The first order of business for the new council was to select a deputy reeve and representative to Lennox and Addington County Council. Until now, the township has employed an informal process whereby the deputy reeve position was offered to the councilor with the largest share of the vote from the district that the reeve does not come from. With Henry Hogg coming from Ward 1, the last time around that person was Helen Yanch. If the process were followed this time, however, Bill Cox would be chosen because he received more votes than Yanch did.

However, instead of deferring, Helen Yanch said she was interested in the position. Bill Cox wanted the job as well, forcing a new process to be adopted on the spot.

Jack Pauhl said that either an open vote or picking the candidate by lot was acceptable, but a secret ballot would contravene the Municipal Act.

“I would prefer a non-voting process, such as picking a name out of a hat,” said Councilor Tony Fritsch, “because an open vote could create divisions on our first day as a council.”

That prospect did not sit with the candidates, who wanted a vote to be held.

“I don't like the idea of an open vote,” said Henry Hogg, “for the reasons that Tony pointed to.”

It was suggested that if, instead of holding a formal closed vote, members of council simply wrote a Y (Yanch) or a C (Cox) on a piece of paper, it might be acceptable.

Legal or not, such a vote was held.

When the count was made, Jack Pauhl said, “The C's have it 3-2.” With that, Bill Cox was appointed deputy reeve and representative to L&A County Council.

The next task of council was to make appointments to committees and bodies. Adam Snider volunteered to represent the township on the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority. Tony Fritsch and Helen Yanch were appointed to the library board. Bill Cox, Adam Snider, and Henry Hogg will sit on the Kaladar Barrie Fire Board. The Facilities committee, which has met rarely in the past, but might have an expanded role with the Denbigh School redevelopment project looming, will be chaired by Tony Fritsch and will include Bill Cox as well. Reeve Hogg is an ex-officio member on all internal township committees.

There was a discussion about the roads and waste management committees. “I heard a lot of talk about roads and waste management when I was out campaigning, and about communication. I think those committees should meet more often,” said Helen Yanch.

Rather than make appointments from council to those committees at this time, council decided to advertise for members of the public to join the committees, and defer the council appointments until the next meeting.

AHEAD Committee – Larry Pealow, who has been the chairperson of the AHEAD (Addington Highlands Economic Advisors for Development) Committee for five years, appeared as a delegate to find out if council plans to continue that committee.

“I don't think there is any initiative to disband it,” said Henry Hogg.

“In that case my appointment as chair ended with this change of council,” said Pealow. “I do not intend to carry on as chair, and will be trying to find a new chair at the AHEAD meeting in January, but I need a motion from council to appoint me until then.”

“I'll make a motion to appoint Larry Pealow as chair of AHEAD for the time being,” said Henry Hogg.

“You didn't put an end date on that,” said Pealow.

“I know,” Hogg said, laughing, “it's not always easy to find a chair.”

Hartsmere Road maintenance – Public Works Manager Rosenblath said that with upgrades to equipment the roads department is now in a position to provide road maintenance to the Hartsmere Road, a service that has been done by the township of Carlaw-Mayo at a cost of $30,000 per year.

“It will not save money for us to do it, but we can deliver better service and it would be good for our township to have more of a presence in that community because of issues at the waste site we have there,” Rosenblath said.

Brushing – Council received another complaint about the state of the Jacques Bay Road after the brush at the side of it was removed using the new machine the works department has purchased. “They think we should be using a chainsaw and a chipper instead,” said Reeve Hogg, “but the cost would be about ten times as high.”

“Personally I think we should use the machine we purchased. It might not be pretty, but it's effective and our main responsibility is to make sure the roads are clear,” said Bill Cox.

“Can there not be a limit on the width of trees that the machine is used on?” asked Helen Yanch.

“It is not intended to be used on trees wider than 8 inches. For those we plan to use a chainsaw,” said Royce Rosenblath. “That road has not been done for 34 years, so there is some large growth. Our intention is to do every road every couple of years, so over time we should bring it all down to a manageable level.”

FIRE ISSUES - Fire Chief Casey Cuddy welcomed the new council, and informed them of the year-to-date figures for the department. “So far we have done 94 calls from the Kaladar Barrie department and 29 from Denbigh,” said Cuddy, “with the number of medical calls and car accident calls going up and fire calls going down.

Cuddy also said that council should consider building a new fire hall in Northbrook sooner than later, for health and safety reasons.

Insurance Issues – The representative from Jardine Lloyd Thompson, the township’s insurance carrier, made a lengthy presentation to council about the coverage that is being offered. The quote for 2011 is $5,000 higher than the cost in 2010, a change that is attributed to an increase in the value of township assets, not an increase in insurance rates.

Certified General Liability Required – The Jardine Lloyd Thomson representative confirmed that any contractor hired by the township needs to have a CGL (Certified General Liability) policy in place with at least $2 million in liability. This confirmation puts the snow ploughing contract for the Northbrook helipad and other properties in limbo because the lowest bid came from a contractor with only automotive insurance and liability coverage.

Casey Cuddy said he would have to contact the other bidders to see if any of them has the necessary coverage. In the interim public works will take on the snow clearing.

Starting in January 2011, both Addington Highlands and North Frontenac townships will be paying $15,000 a year for the next five years to Ann Wilson, a third-year medical student at the University of Toronto. Wilson will begin practicing at the Lakelands Family Health Team in Northbrook on July 1st 2012, and will be committed to remaining at the Family Health Team at least until July 1, 2017.

North Frontenac Council found the money for their share of the $150,000 commitment from their 2010 budget. They had put $88,100 aside to use for a medical clinic in Plevna as part of their commitment to the Family Health Team, but later in the year they decided not to pursue the clinic.

However, the money had already been placed in a reserve fund, and at their meeting last week, North Frontenac Council decided to divert those funds to a medical student recruitment fund, from which $15,000 will be paid annually for five years, starting on January 15, 2011.

A formal announcement of the arrangement will be made at the Lakelands Family Health Team on Friday, when Anne Wilson will be present.

(Note: the Denbigh clinic of the Family Health Team has moved its location to the Denbigh School as of next Tuesday)

Photo right: Newly appointed members of North Frontenac Council

The newly elected mayor, Bud Clayton, make a short speech at the outset. He pointed out that the township derives its legal standing from the Province of Ontario and as such is subject to the many Acts that have and will continue to be enacted by the province.

“We are required to act in accordance with all of these acts and that is what we will do,” he said. “Transparency, transparency, transparency, will be our watchword. We need to do all of our work out in the open.”

The first order of business that council dealt with was the appointment of a deputy mayor for four years.

There were two nominees, Councilors Fred Perry and Betty Hunter. There were no speeches, and a vote was taken. With the support of four members of council: Mayor Clayton, Councilors Wayne Good and Gerry Martin, and himself, Fred Perry was chosen.

Betty received three votes, her own and those of Councilors Lonnie Watkins and John Inglis.

The next business was the appointment of a member to sit on Frontenac County Council, and for that position John Inglis was acclaimed as he was the only nominee.

EXCAVATOR REJECTED – Public Works Manager John Ibey expressed his best wishes to the new council, and then proposed that some of the expected surplus in the winter maintenance be diverted to pay for an upgraded excavator.

The township owns an excavator, which he says is too small to do some of the work that is required. When it was purchased several years ago the township could not float a larger one, but a new float truck has been purchased in the interim. Last summer the township rented a larger excavator for three months, at a cost of $21,000. The supplier has offered to use that money as part of a rent-to-own arrangement, and if the township trades in their existing excavator, they can keep the larger one, with a one-year warranty, for another $21,000.

“There is $85,000 left in the winter maintenance budget as of the end of November, so I propose to pay for the excavator with some of the surplus that should still be in that budget at the end of 2010,” Ibey said.

Ibey said that both machines are the same age, and the larger one is in better shape, although it has been used more. It has 3,700 hours of operation as opposed to 2200 for the one the township already owns.

“The machine is 20,000 pounds heavier and has a five-foot longer reach, which is handy for a lot of the projects we do,” Ibey said.

A couple of members of council said they thought it would be a good investment.

Lonnie Watkins differed, saying, “I think the machine that we’ve got is fine for what we need. I don’t think we need to upgrade.”

Councilor Betty Hunter agreed. “You’re looking at a machine that's got more hours on it. I think, with the new council, we should be looking at what we are doing in the future before getting ahead of ourselves,” she said.

When the vote was taken, Councilors Gerry Martin, Wayne Good and Deputy Mayor Fred Perry supported the proposal, and Councillors Lonnie Watkins, Betty Hunter and John Inglis voted against it. Mayor Clayton then informed the clerk that the proposal had been defeated, effectively casting the deciding vote against it.

What’s in a name?

The township received a survey from the Ministry of Natural Resources regarding the naming of two islands on Pine Lake. The ministry proposes to name the islands, which are located near the Pine Lake boat launch, Shingwak Island and Miskwa island.

Shingwak and Miskwa are the names of two lakes elsewhere; Shingwak Lake is located near Sioux Narrows in Western Ontario, and Miskwa Lake is in Manitoba.

Councilor Gerry Martin said he had talked to some of the elderly people in the vicinity of the islands, and found that they are known locally as Priest Island and Millie’s island. According to Martin, Priest Island is the location of a retreat for Catholic priests, and Milly’s island is so called after Milly Barquo.

“Have we talked to any of the local Algonquin communities?” asked Councilor Wayne Good.

“The names were sent by the Ministry,” said Clerk Brenda Defosse. “I don’t think they came from anyone locally,”

Council decided to tell the ministry they would prefer the names that have been used locally for years.

Monday meetings in 2011 – Mayor Clayton said he wants to change the meeting dates for council to Mondays from Thursdays. “It’s a matter of transparency” he said. “If we meet on Mondays the reports will be in the Frontenac News that same week. As it is, the reports only go in a week later.”

The change will not take place until March at the earliest.

Portfolio assignments – The following areas of responsibility were doled out – Councilor Martin, communications and liaison with the Committee of Adjustment; Councilor Hunter, Economic Development and Social Services; Councilor Good, Emergency Preparedness and special projects; Councilor Inglis, Emergency Preparedness and Environment; Councillor Watkins, Youth and Recreation and representative to the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority; Deputy Mayor Perry, Emergency Preparedness and Health.

Mayor Clayton will chair the Personnel and Audit Committee, which will also include Gerry Martin, John Inglis, and Fred Perry.

Construction up $1 million – As of November 30, permits for $7.6 million in construction had been taken out this year, up from $6.6 million on the same date in 2009.

Photo right: Newly appointed members of South Frontenac Council

Berm to building accepted, in principle

A proposal by Scott Asselstine, who runs a car wash and solar installation on Road 38 just south of Hartington, to change the terms of a site plan agreement he has with the township, was brought forward by Planner Lindsay Mills. The existing site plan agreement calls for a berm to be built and trees to be planted at the south end of the property, and for other plantings as well. This agreement, which has been in place for four years, has not been fully complied with and the township has notified Scott Asselstine that the work must now be done.

Instead, Asselstine sent a proposal to the planning department to change the site plan agreement so that instead of a berm, an office and storage building could be constructed at the same location.

In his report to council, Lindsay Mills said that the building would provide at least as good a buffer as the berm would. “What the applicant is proposing here is to provide some visual screening. I think we can support this change and not require the berm,” he said.

The new plan also includes a planting of ten trees behind the building.

Noting that the original site plan agreement has not been adhered to, Mills recommended that if the new plan is acceptable to council, it should include a provision for an advance payment to the township by Asselstine, which they will hold as a surety until the building is substantially complete.

“There is no doubt in my mind that we need to have some kind of surety to make sure the office building is indeed completed,” said Councilor Del Stowe, “I think we need to take into account that he did not do what he said he would do the last time around. When someone makes a commitment to do something I’d like to see them come through. My concern lies with the credibility of council to enter into these kinds of agreements.”

“I think there needs to be some definite timelines” said Councilor Ron Vandewal.

Mayor Gary Davison then addressed Scott Asselstine directly. “What’s your time frame for building this?” he asked.

“The first step was to come here. There was no point designing and costing it until I knew if I could build it.” Scott Asselstine responded.

“Can you do it in one year?” Davison asked.

“The problem is going to be finding a contractor. I can get it designed and plans drawn up, but contractors are booked a long time in advance,” Asselstine said.

“I’m sure you can find a contractor to build it in 2011,” Davison said. He then asked if the councilors would give approval in principle to the change, which would then be brought back to council in detailed form for approval, and they agreed.

Southern Frontenac Community Services – David Townsend, Executive Director, and Joan Cameron, Board Chair, from Southern Frontenac Community Services (SFCSC), brought an update to council.

David Townsend said that SFCSC has developed a strategic plan this year, and has decided to focus on helping seniors accomplish the goal of ‘aging at home’ as long as they can by providing a number of services. The second focus is on delivering family services for vulnerable families facing homelessness and other poverty-related issues.

“I would like to thank Mayor Davison and council for your support in getting the City of Kingston to take on the funding of our family services co-ordinator until the end of 2011,” Townsend said.

Until then some of the funding for those services had been coming from the agency itself, which ran substantial deficits in 2008 and 2009. SFCSC runs a food bank, a rent bank and a heat and utilities fund, and has a focus on housing the 22 identified homeless families in the township (of which seven have now been housed).

The other project that David Townsend talked about is the plan to consolidate the agency’s operations in the former Grace United Church in Sydenham. He also reported that as of March 31, the agency would no longer be operating its licensed home daycare program, which will be taken over by a Kingston-based daycare service.

“We are not asking for anything from council at this time. We may or may not come back for help with the Grace United Church building, but for now I just wanted to provide an update on our activities for council,” David Townsend said.

Budget process – CAO Wayne Orr apprised council of the budget deliberation schedule he has worked out. It called for a preliminary presentation on the finances from this year and a discussion of the status of the five-year roads plan on January 18, and for three working meetings for council to go over the budget, coinciding with scheduled Committee of the Whole meetings in March, with approval of the budget being scheduled for April 19.

Mayor Davison said he wanted the process speeded up, and Wayne Orr said he would try to get everything wrapped up by the beginning of April instead of late April.

Committees, committees, committees – Council spent well over an hour deliberating over the need for and makeup of a number of township committees.

Determining the appointments to conservation authorities was easy. Councilors Ron Vandewal and Allan McPhail will sit on the Cataraqui Conservation Authority; Bill Robinson will sit on Quinte Conservation, and Mayor Davison will sit on the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority. Del Stowe and Larry York will sit on the Cataraqui Trail Committee.

A debate over the makeup of the Committee of Adjustment, which currently includes four members of council and four members of the public, centred on whether four councilors are necessary. In the end the advice of the Mayor, “It ain’t broke; we shouldn’t fix it”, carried the day. Councilors Robinson, York, Vandewal and Deputy Mayor Mark Tinlin will be the council appointees and they will choose the public representatives from the people who responded to the advertisements that have been placed.

Mark Tinlin will be the council rep to the Police Services Board.

Council spent time discussing amalgamating or eliminating a number of their committees and came up with a plan to establish a public works committee to look at waste management, roads and bridges and the Sydenham water plant. Councilors Cam Naish, John McDougall, and Allan McPhail were tentatively appointed to this committee.

The Central Recreation Committee will oversee all four district recreation committees and a number of specialized groups such as the Battersea Pumpkin Festival, the Verona Community Association and the Portland and Bedford Historical Societies. Del Stowe, Cam Naish, John McDougall and Ron Vandewal were appointed to the Central Recreation Committee.

Del Stowe was appointed to the Natural Environment Committee, and John McDougall to the Verona District Medical Services Committee.

McPhail made an impassioned plea for a planning committee to look at future growth issues and more. The proposal was sent to staff for comment.

All the appointments are tentative pending approval by resolution at a council meeting. Also, the opinion of staff will be sought before the public works committee is established.

by Julie Druker and Jeff Green

20-year struggle over rail lands over for Central Frontenac

CPR lands to be transferred: Central Frontenac Council met on Tuesday evening, December 14 and heard some good news just in time for Christmas.

CAO John Duchene reported that late last week he was contacted by Canadian Pacific Railway and was informed that they hope to transfer all the CPR lands located in Oso to the township by the end of the year. The CAO reported, “The paper work should be ready to be signed any day now,” which will complete a process 20 years in the making.

Tax Rebate: Frances Smith brought forth a motion for council to grant a tax rebate for the 2010 tax year to the Parham IOOF hall, saying that the hall provides many important services to the community. The motion was passed.

New Water Tanker - Council passed a motion for the purchase of a new water tanker for District #2 fire hall that will replace a 40-year-old tanker at a cost of $255,408 + HST. Fire Chief Mark MacDonald explained to council that the tanker “is virtually the same type of vacuum tanker as the one purchased in 2007” and that it is the first new heavy truck to be purchased, excluding the Piccadilly truck, since 2004. A $50,000 down payment was budgeted for the purchase in 2010 and the balance of funds will be paid from the 2011 budget allocation to the Central Frontenac Fire and Rescue Service

$300,000 Loan: Council passed a motion permitting Treasurer Judy Gray to establish a five-year bank loan for $300,000 to pay for the township’s portion (one third) of infrastructure projects as completed and approved by the 2010 budget.

Waste Management-

A letter sent to council from Lisa Wilson, co-owner of Camp Oconto, requesting off site composting facilities for the camp in order to discourage bears on the grounds was discussed in depth among council members. Councilor Frances Smith agreed that composting in the bush can be difficult as it attracts wild animals and thought the issue of off site composting should be forwarded to the Waste Management Committee. Councilor Tom Dewey suggested looking into having composting facilities at all waste sites in Central Frontenac. After further discussion a motion was passed to refer the composting issue to the Waste Management Committee.

Appointments: Quinte Region Conservation - Heather Fox; Rideau Valley Conservation Authority - Tom Dewey; Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority - Wayne Millar; Frontenac Arena Board - Bill Snyder and Heather Fox; Economic Development Committee - Tom Dewey; Kennebec Rec. Committee - Jeff Matson; Hinchinbrooke Rec. Committee - Bill Snyder; Olden Rec. Committee - Norman Guntensperger; Oso Rec. Committee - Wayne Millar; Eastern Ontario Trails Assoc. - Jeff Matson; Family Health Team - Frances Smith; Multi-Use Cultural Centre Committee - Frances Smith; Waste Management and Steering Committee - Wayne Millar, Norman Guntensperger and Heather Fox.

How many clerks does it take to change a bylaw? Three, but the bylaw has to really want to change.

Council met for a Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting on Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 14, and the major issue they discussed was whether the COW itself should be continued under the new council.

The previous council set up the committee because they had found that their council meetings were becoming too lengthy, and that the formal structure of a council meeting made it difficult for councilors to fully discuss various issues.

The COW meets twice a month in the afternoons, on the same day as the regular council meetings, for those more informal discussions and reports from senior staff.

With the new council now in place, CAO John Duchene said, “It's up to you people to decide what you want to do - keep the committee as it is, change it, or eliminate it entirely.”

All of the councilors in attendance who had worked under the Committee of the Whole, Frances Smith, Norm Guntensperger, and Jeff Matson, as well as Mayor Gutowski, said they like the committee, but thought it could be streamlined. Councilors Bill Snyder and John Purdon were not at the meeting.

New Councilor Heather Fox said she has looked at the minutes from Committee of the Whole meetings and council meetings and can't tell the difference. She also pointed out that according to the township’s procedural bylaw, the mayor needs to chair all meetings. Until now the chair of the Committee of the Whole has alternated between members of council according to the topic that the committee was discussing.

“I agree that we should look more closely at the procedural bylaw and perhaps the Committee of the Whole as well,” said Clerk/Chief Administrative Officer John Duchene.

In the end a sub-committee was formed to look at the procedural bylaw before deciding on how the COW will operate. Councilor Frances Smith, who was a former clerk of Oso Township back in the 1980s, Heather Fox, a former clerk administrator of Central Frontenac, and CAO John Duchene, will form the sub-committee.

Parham Ballfield canteen – Tenders were opened for building a new canteen at the Parham ball field, and John Duchene reported that one was for $40,000 and one for $74,000. The approved budget for the project is $23,000 so none of the tenders were accepted.

Arden Demolition – The Arden motel demolition is in process but the Ministry of Labour must approve the project before it can go ahead. That approval is pending.

Road repairs – Public Works Manager Mike Richardson reported that the Ardoch Road washout has been repaired and repairs to Echo Lake Road are almost complete.

Cost of medical calls sparks discussion at Council

In considering the monthly report by Fire Chief Bill Young and Deputy Chief Art Cowdy, members of Central Frontenac Council noted that the department is called out twice as often for medical calls as it is for fire calls.

“Most of those medicals come from the Arden area,” said Chief Young, “because when the ambulance is not in Parham the estimated ambulance response time is greater than 15 minutes and that’s when dispatch calls us.”

“Our crews answer the calls, and we take on the cost, but there is no financial support from any source for those calls. The County runs the ambulance service. Shouldn’t they pay us for not having the service available, or at least the province should pay something?” asked Councilor Frances Smith.

“I get emails from the paramedic union saying we shouldn’t answer those calls,” said Councilor Jeff Matson, who is also a volunteer firefighter out of the Arden fire hall.

“In some cases we shouldn’t be there,” said Chief Young, "but sometimes we are needed.”

Jeff Matson said there is an added cost to these calls, beyond labour costs. Sometimes when paramedics arrive and fire department equipment, such as stretchers, are already being used, the paramedics keep the patient on the same stretcher in order not to disturb the patient, but the department then has a difficult time getting the stretcher back.

“It’s easier to get them back when it is the L&A ambulance out of Northbrook that answers the call. It’s harder with Frontenac County,” said Matson.

While no decision was made about how to approach the issue, council will consider setting up an ad hoc committee to look further at it.

“The first thing we need to do is look at our bylaws to see what our own rules are about medical calls,” said Bill Young.

Policing cost reform could hurt Central Frontenac

Treasurer Michael McGovern attended a meeting in  eterborough with OPP finance officials to hear the initial proposals for changing the way municipalities are billed for OPP services.

“One thing they are looking at is standardising the way municipalities are billed,” said McGovern. “The cost per resident ranges from $100 to $900, depending on the amount of crime and other factors. They propose to set a standard rate, based on average costs, of $260 per resident, plus extra based on crime rate, etc. That sounds fine, but we are now paying $180 all in for our policing, so we could be looking at an increase of at least $80 per resident.

“This may be a service that will have to be provided provincially,” said Frances Smith. “Say it goes to $300 per resident. We can’t raise taxes like that just to pay for policing.”

Township CAO Larry Donaldson said that in his previous position as CAO of Arnprior he learned “a lot more than I wanted to about how the OPP bills for their services.

“They can be very difficult to deal with over finances,” he said. “It would be nice if they did explain how they billed. I’ve known seasoned financial people who could not figure it out. But they tend to make up their own pricing, which municipalities can’t afford.”

McGovern will be attending further meetings with the OPP as a new pricing regime is developed for 2015.

Traffic concerns in Crow Lake

A delegate to the meeting, Karen Lahey from The Oaks cottages in the hamlet of Crow Lake, listed a number of issues she and eight other residents who attended the meeting said negatively affected road safety in the village of Crow Lake. She cited speeding, inadequate signage, numerous hidden driveways, a narrow road with no existing shoulders, eroded pavement, inadequate brushing and the lack of guard rails as her main concerns. She and other residents had brought these issues up to council at an earlier June meeting but have yet to see any changes made or to hear back from council.

Crow Lake resident Chuck Belcher said, “One day someone is going to get killed and it's going to be sooner rather than later.”

Councilor Tom Dewey, who was chairing the meeting, said that he would instruct staff to look into the issues and have township staff investigate any changes that could be made to improve the issues of safety. He reported that he would have answers for the residents and their concerns in two weeks' time.