North Frontenac waives permit fees for Ompah build - April 23, 2012

Four companies are planning to submit bids under a Frontenac County Request for Proposal (RFP) for a design/build contract to put up a fire hall and ambulance post in North Frontenac. The deadline for submissions is May 14, but according to North Frontenac Chief Administrative Officer Cheryl Robson that deadline may be pushed back at the request of some of the potential bidders.

Once the bids are received, each of the partners in the project, North Frontenac and Frontenac County, will have a chance to review the costs and decide whether they want to proceed to the construction stage.

The matter will likely come to North Frontenac Council in late May or early June, and could be before Frontenac Council at their June 20 meeting.

“Frontenac County staff want to know charges the township will be levying for a building permit and an entrance permit. The bidders need these figures in order to finalize their bids,” CAO Robson said at a meeting of North Frontenac Council this week (April 23).

The fees would normally come to $3,600 for the building permit and $40 for the entrance permit.

“Do you want to charge them?” she asked Council.

“If we charge the fees it will put our costs up as well, because we are on the hook for more than half of the costs,” said Deputy Mayor Fred Perry.

“The County has taken on a lot of costs already in preparing the RFP and doing a lot of background work, and they have not charged any of that back to the project,” Robson pointed out.

“I think it is a reasonable gesture for us to make,” said Mayor Bud Clayton.

Council agreed to waive the fees.

Bell planning to bring cell service to many in NF

Bell Canada is in the initial planning stages for a 400 foot tower on a piece of private land near Pine Lake, not far from the hamlet of Ardoch. A second tower is also planned for North Frontenac. The impact of these towers would be a substantial increase in cell phone service.

The towers are designed to cover a gap in Bell service that encompasses most of North Frontenac and parts of Addington Highlands and Central Frontenac as well.

Robert Milne, representing Canacre, a company that has been contracted by Bell Canada to oversee the permitting process for the tower, came to North Frontenac Township on Monday to talk about the project.

“It is really early in the process,” Milne said, “there are a number of factors that need to be looked at before any towers are put up, and one of the early steps in the process is to come before council,” he said.

Councillor Gerry Martin expressed a concern about the fact that while the potential Pine Lake tower will be located on private property that is located near a road allowance, it is not a maintained township road, and he wanted to make sure that the township is not taking on any increased responsibilities for road maintenance.

“I'm particularly concerned about the bridge on that road. We don't want to be on the hook for repairing that bridge if it ever fails,” he said.

Councillor John Inglis expressed another concern.

“There are concerns about the way these kinds of towers affect the landscape, concerns about the aesthetics,” he said.

“Some people are not happy with the aesthetics of a tower,” said Robert Milne, “but many people have a desire for improved service.”

“In our case it is not a case of improved service,” said Mayor Bud Clayton, “because we have no service at all.”

Robert Milne said that there will be public consultation as part of the permitting process.

As clerk Jenny Duhamel pointed out, the township itself is not the body that grants the approvals for cell towers, which are under the purview of Industry Canada.

“Nonetheless, there will be a licensing agreement and that will cover the concerns that have been expressed by Council,” she said.

Once any towers are in place, service may be offered by Bell's competitors as well.

“Co-location with competitors is frequently done,” said Milne.

If constructed, the tower will be located in a fenced-in yard, will include a small shed, and will be secured with guy ropes, Milne added.

Lack of information limits new business ventures in North Frontenac

As part of his work with the Economic Development Task Force in the township, Ron Higgins conducted a survey of three businesses who have either started up or expanded in recent years. As he said in the preamble to his report, Higgins was looking for trouble – he chose businesses that had expressed concerns about the process they went through with the township.

“The fact gathering element was conducted by intentionally selecting three businesses that were known to have issues with the process. The rationale for this selection was to try and understand the specific issues encountered so that I could conduct a root cause analysis to identify the true problem and identify opportunities for improvement,” he said.

The general conclusions that he came to by asking the same 13 questions to each of the three business owners were that "The information for startup or expansion is not readily available [from the township]; there was a perception that the staff at the time did not appear helpful before or during the process; and the zoning bylaws were perceived to be prohibitive for starting or expanding a business.”

Higgins has already shared his survey results with CAO Cheryl Robson. Together they have determined that the problem may come down to a deficiency at the township office. Office staff are not in a position to provide all relevant information to business owners when they are approached about what processes need to be followed to obtain necessary municipal approvals for new ventures.

Some of the solutions being proposed are: Identifying a single staff contact for business proposals, having a process map or list to simplify planning matters, and making changes to the township website to provide a window for business owners to access township services are.

“When I was first elected mayor I asked the question, 'are we ready for economic development in this township?' At the time I said no, we are not,” said Bud Clayton, “and this report goes some way to identify why we are not and pointing us to how we can become ready. The task force is doing a good job.”

Bobolink could block MVC

With a hint of amusement in his voice, Councillor Gerry Martin reported that construction of the new headquarters for Mississippi Valley Conservation in Carleton Place, a project that could cost up to $6.5 million, may be held up by one of the species that MVC is charged with protecting.

A bobolink was either seen, or heard (they have a distinctive song – it sounds kind of like their name, only more tuneful) on the site.

“I don't know if this means we have to wait until July, or longer,” said Martin.

Councilors get snippy in short budget meeting

Displaying an uncanny knack for scheduling meetings during freezing rain events, members of Frontenac County Council found their opportunities to debate their 2012 budget limited to about 45 minutes last month.

With their regularly scheduled meeting cancelled over a threat of freezing rain on January 18, and a replacement meeting on January 27 delayed due to freezing rain, only some preliminary questions were brought up about the draft 2012 budget.

The county is planning to spend a shade over $42 million this year, and Frontenac County ratepayers will pay just over $8.5 million towards that if the draft budget is not altered, an increase of $112,000 or 1.34%.

County taxes represent about 20% of the municipal tax bill, so the increase will not have a significant impact on the amount of taxes ratepayers in the county will be saddled with this year.

But in opening remarks before addressing specific items in the budget, members of council indicated they might be looking to decrease county taxation in order to offset some of the increases that are coming through their own township budgets.

Transfers from the provincial and federal governments will account for $17.5 million of the $42 million in county spending this year, mainly through subsidies for ambulance, Fairmount Home and Howe Island ferry costs

Frontenac Islands mayor Dennis Doyle said that he had reason to believe that this financial support may drop over the next few years. “I have had some meetings in recent weeks with a number of officials from the province. We are facing zero dollars for infrastructure and perhaps a certain amount of fallback on the downloading of costs. The situation in provincial and federal finances is pretty dire, and we might need to consider service cuts in place of tax increases,” Doyle said.

North Frontenac mayor Bud Clayton said that he recently attended an event in Toronto where the premier delivered a speech. “The premier singled out wages as the means to find the $16 billion provincial deficit he plans to cut. We should be prepared, at our level, for a lot of recession-type things,” said Clayton.

However, Central Frontenac mayor and current county warden, Janet Gutowski, pointed out that county council has already made moves that will make cutting the 2012 budget difficult. “We've already voted in a 2.9% wage increase for non-unionized staff. From what I gather you are looking for a budget decrease, I am wondering how we do it once we have already agreed to a 2.9% wage increase,” Gutowski said.

Turning to some of the specific items in the budget, no actual cuts were made but a number were flagged for further information from the finance department.

These included $60,000 for the operations of four council committees (Green Energy Task Force, Sustainability, K&P Trails and 150th Anniversary) the money covers mileage paid for committee members’ travel to meetings and events, and the cost of conferences that members attend from time to time.

County chief administrator Liz Savill said although money can be set aside for conferences in the budget, all requests to attend conferences come directly to county council for approval.

County councilor John Inglis from North Frontenac, who is himself a member of the Green Energy Task Force, said, “I think the committees will be able to manage on $40,000.”

Another item that was flagged for further discussion was the cost associated with making the Communications position, currently a contract position, into a full time position on the county payroll.

As well, the $3,700 per unit cost for new colors and increased reflective properties for Frontenac County ambulances came under scrutiny.

County council will return to the budget debate at their regular monthly meeting on February 15, and a special meeting may be called for late February if necessary.

Ompah ambulance base / fire station project finally moving

It's hurry up time after another long wait.

At a meeting of Frontenac County Council on January 27, a bylaw was approved authorizing the county to set out two requests for proposal, one for a project manager and one for a engineering company to prepare design plans and building costs for a building to be located on a lot in Ompah.

The building will house a 1,500 square foot ambulance base and a 2750 square foot fire hall.

In debating the bylaw the two North Frontenac representatives on the council, North Frontenac mayor Bud Clayton and township councilor John Inglis, brought concerns that had been expressed by North Frontenac Council at one of their own meetings.

“Our council was concerned that by passing this bylaw today, North Frontenac would be left with no option but to proceed even if the project’s costs exceed the amount we have earmarked for the project,” said John Inglis. “But from talking to county staff since then and looking at the agreement, I see that this is not the case.”

Nonetheless, Bud Clayton did propose an amendment to the bylaw, but county staff said this would lead to a further delay in proceeding with the project.

South Frontenac Mayor Gary Davison expressed considerable frustration with the amendment.

“I thought we had this all put to bed. If this isn't clear then I think we should stop this right now and only bring it back when both sides really have an agreement.”

Clayton then asked for a minute to confer with Inglis and they withdrew their amendment.

Two members of council opposed the bylaw. South Frontenac councilor John McDougall did so on the grounds that an Ompah ambulance base could lead to the closure of the Parham base, which he said is contrary to the interests of his constituents in the Verona area.

Warden Gutowski said that even though the amendment had been withdrawn, it revealed that North Frontenac Council is not in agreement.

With the passage of the bylaw, one major hurdle remains before construction can begin, the matter of “sticker shock”.

When the proposals come in for the design and construction of the ambulance base/fire hall, they will come with a price tag, and it may be the case that the cost to North Frontenac township will exceed the amount of money they have set aside for the project, which will leave their council with a decision to make.

by Jeff Green and Julie Druker

CF Council finalizes budget

Local budget up 4.25%, but education and county rates will lower increase to rate of inflation

As Central Frontenac Council met on Tuesday night to finalize their 2012 budget, they received some good news.

When the final accounting was done for 2011, it turns out that $300,000 that was collected from ratepayers had not been spent.

Council decided to put $100,000 of the money towards a fund for a new fire hall in Parham, which is something they had already been planning to do. By transferring the money from the 2011 surplus, however, they do not have to raise those funds from ratepayers in 2012, cutting $100,000 from 2012 taxation. Of the other $200,000, $75,000 will go to cost overruns in the winter maintenance budget stemming from an increase in salt/sand costs this winter. The remaining $125,000 will be put into the township's general reserve funds, which have been depleted in recent years.

Going into the meeting, the 2012 total to be raised in taxation stood at $5.725 million, an increase of over $300,000 from the $5.4 million that was collected in 2011.

With the $100,000 savings, the 2012 total now stands at $5.625 million, an increase of $225,000 (4.25%) over 2011.

Council made no further cuts to the budget.

When the 4.25% increase in local taxes is combined with education taxes and county taxes, the net effect on ratepayers will be an increase in the 2% to 3%

range, an increase that is in line with inflation and increases in property values due to growth.

Given that the first draft of the budget envisioned a 15% increase in local taxation, the outcome of the budget process will come as a relief to beleaguered ratepayers.

Most of the cuts to the budget came from the roads and fire departments. $210,000 in savings came from a decision to defer the purchase of a tandem truck for another year, and the curtailing of a planned road construction project on the Arden Road.

The budget includes only limited road construction for 2012, which was also the case in 2011.

Waste management bylaw approved -

A bylaw that details all of the changes to the waste management system, including the clear bag system, was presented to council. Among the highlights of the bylaw are the clear bag system and tipping fees for bulk waste. The proposed bylaw is posted on the township website.

Council is slated to approve the bylaw at their February 28 meeting.

Change to staff benefits plan deferred -

CAO Shawn Trépanier brought forward a proposal that the employee benefits program be transferred to a Great West Life plan, pulling Central Frontenac out of a pooled plan with Frontenac County.

“What this proposal does is provide extended dental care, an enhanced health plan and a new short-term disability plan to add to the current long-term disability plan,” said Trépanier. “At the same time it will bring a rate reduction of $18,000 to the township and $6,300 to the employees.”

Mayor Gutowski wondered how it is that by going to a smaller pool of employees the costs could go down while benefits increase.

“I think we should defer this and investigate a bit further,” she said.

Councilor John Purdon asked if Trépanier had looked at the possibility of joining a pooled program that is available through the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.

Trépanier said he would make the requested inquiries and bring the matter back to council at a later date.

Signage project in Arden -

The friends of Arden are planning to put up a number of new signs, including a 10' by 12' sign at Highway 7 and Arden Road, an 8' by 6' sign at the Millpond in the hub of the hamlet, and three 4' x 8' panels to be used to consolidate the many contractor signs on trees throughout Arden in central locations.

A number of smaller signs are planed as well.

The Friends requested that township staff be tasked with looking for grant money to make the signage project a reality.

Councilor Frances Smith wondered about the wording of the request. “The way it reads it is only the township who is taking responsibility for this. I think we should add some language about the Friends of Arden working on these grant applications as well,” she said.

“The Friends of Arden have done all the work required to get this project to this point,” said Mayor Gutowski. “The grant writing part is only a small part, that they are asking for our help with.”

Council agreed to task township staff with seeking grants for the Arden signage project.

$1175 for new fire department crests – Council approved the purchase of 500 newly designed crests for the fire department. The crests were designed by Michelle Ross, who won a contest that was sponsored by the township's fire department associations. She received a large screen television, which was paid for by the associations, as a prize for winning the contest. The cost that will be incurred by the township is for the crests and for sewing them on the uniforms of current department members.

Rebates for recycling – The township will be receiving about $60,000 from Waste Diversion Ontario as a rebate for the recycling of 10 different categories of materials in 2011. As well the township recycled 13.25 tons of hazardous waste in 2011, down from 15.58 tons in 2010.

Council rejects levy for private road maintenance. The East Marble Lake Cottage Association sent a letter making an unusual request of the township. They asked if the township would consider charging a special tax to their members, above and beyond the normal taxation of their properties, to cover the cost of maintaining the private lane the association members use to access their properties. On the recommendation of the roads department and township solicitor, council opted not to take the Marble Lake cottagers up on the offer. Among concerns mentioned were the fact that the township has a policy of not taking on any maintenance on private lanes.

Dimestore fisherman is back - Council agreed to partner with the Land O'Lakes Tourist Association in seeking a $20,000 grant from the Eastern Ontario Development Program (EODP) to compensate the producers of an independent TV program called the Dimestore Fisherman for the cost of filming an episode of the program in North and Central Frontenac.

Included in the sample agenda for filming are a visit to Frontenac Shores, lunch at North of 7, filming at Fernleigh Lodge, a visit to the Ompah fish hatchery, and an ATV ride on the trails near Ompah. The itinerary is tentative because none of the operators who would be hosting the Dimestore crew have been notified of the project thus far. Filming would take place over the Canada Day weekend.

If the grant application is successful, the township will only pay a nominal fee, just over $100, to cover some HST costs.

Ompah fire hall costs – For the purposes of hiring a project manager for building the Ompah fire hall/ambulance base the township needed to put a dollar figure on the project. A price of $550,000 was recommended, a total that is higher than council expects the project to cost, but an amount that has been mentioned before, which could be covered with existing reserve funds and monies earmarked by the Ompah fire crew from fund raised dollars.

Councilor Wayne Good, who has made his views known on the issue in the past, did not argue about the cost, instead he merely asked for a recorded vote to have his no vote on the motion entered into the public record.

Mayor Bud Clayton said Council should not worry about the $550,000 commitment, which is only a maximum figure.

“That price will certainly come down,” he said.

The vote passed 5-1. (Councilor Gerry Martin was not at the meeting)

South Frontenac to consider Caterpillar boycott

Councilor Bill Robinson wanted South Frontenac Council to make a political statement when it discussed buying a vibratory roller for its road crew at a Council meeting on Tuesday night, February 7.

Robinson suggested that instead of accepting the lowest bid that met the tender criteria, $140,896.31 for a Caterpillar product, Council opt instead for a machine made by Bomag, a British company, for $1,724 more.

“I’m sure everybody is aware of what Caterpillar did in London - offer the workers a 50% pay cut and then leave the country, putting 460 families out of work. I think we should move to the next bidder, for that reason,” said Robinson.

“I sympathise with the people of London, my home town,” said Councilor Mark Tinlin, “but I don’t want to penalize the South Frontenac taxpayers to do this.”

“I’m not sure we can arbitrarily reject the lowest bid,” said Councilor Ron Vandewal. “If it’s for technical reasons, that’s fine, but for political reasons I’m not sure.”

“We don’t have to accept the lowest bid,” said Robinson. “It says right in all of our tenders that we will not necessarily accept the lowest bid.”

Mayor Davison suggested that the matter be referred to staff for advice on the legal implications of Bill Robinson’s proposal, and Council agreed.

“I’m not saying I disagree with your tack, Councilor Robinson,” said Mayor Gary Davison after the decision was deferred, “I have a lot of sympathy for your position on this.”

Earlier in the meeting Council decided to purchase a John Deere grader for $332,000, which was over $16,000 higher than the price for a Caterpillar grader. In that case, however, Council’s decision was based upon a recommendation by Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth. Segsworth said that the Caterpillar grader was not available with a steering wheel.

“Instead the steering is provided through joysticks on the arm rests. Our grader operators prefer the steering wheel, and that was what the tender specifications said so I don’t see why I should ignore the operators’ request,” said Segsworth.

“I think that some time or another all such vehicles will come only with joysticks,” said Councilor Tinlin, “and the operators might as well get used to them now, especially when it is going to cost us $16,000 more.”

Tinlin was the only one who held to that position, and in an 8-1 vote the purchase of the John Deere grader was approved.

Waste Management issues – Mark Segsworth informed Council that at the Keeley Road facility, southeast of Sydenham, waste management staff will be ready to recycle hay baler wrap within the next month or two. “We will contact some farmers directly when we are up and running to do some testing, and then it will be available for everyone,” he said.

Councilor Larry York, who has been pushing for a baler wrap recycling program for several years, said that the township should inform all local farmers “that recycling for baler wrap is coming within one to two months and they should store up their wrap instead of it going up in smoke.”

Mark Segwworth also informed Council that the Certificate of Approval for the Keeley Road Household Hazardous Waste Depot has been amended. It will now be possible for the township to open the depot year round, and the township is no longer restricted to taking hazardous waste from only South Frontenac residents.

But Segsworth is not planning to make any changes in the operation in the very near future.

“We will have to negotiate with other townships before we can accept any of their residents’ waste, and as far as opening the depot before April this year, I haven’t had time to work on that with all the attention that has been paid to other waste matters over the last month or so. I think 2012 will be a very interesting year when it comes to solid waste management in South Frontenac,” Segsworth said with a tinge of irony in his voice.

Speed limit changes – Council passed a bylaw setting new speed limits on four roads. Spooner Road east of Perth Road will have a 60 km/hr posting, while Dover Road east of Latimer Road will have a 50 km/hr limit. Horning Road, running west off Sydenham Road, will be a 60 km/hr road, while Orser Road from Sydenham Road to 3.8 kilometres west of Sydenham Road will have a 70 km/hr limit.

Black Rat Snake – Councilor John McDougall brought the potential Black Rat Snake regulations to Council’s attention. Mayor Davison said staff will look into the matter and Council will address it at an upcoming meeting.

“I remember when those snakes would come out of the limestone and we would just whack them with a crow bar,” said Davison, a mason by trade, “but I guess that’s not the way things are done anymore since they are on the endangered species list.” 

Portland Waste Disposal Site Action Plan

Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth shared a copy of his recent letter to the Ministry of the Environment concerning the Portland waste site. In it, he states that he intends to work with the Quinte Conservation Authority to define the hydrology of the wetlands and to establish a surface water monitoring station by the first of June.

Although it will require a full year to complete a comprehensive wetland study that can take all seasonal variations into account, given the ministry’s demands for expediency, Segsworth told the Ministry that the township will produce an overview in six months.

Also, five alternatives will be evaluated, both as independent solutions and in combination. These are: 1) Water level management; 2) Restricting use of site; 3) Partial capping of site; 4) Onsite treatment; 5) Site closure.

Segsworth repeats that the township’s approach to sustainability requires a balance of social, economic and environmental perspectives, and that any reduction in capacity at the Portland site will result in residuals being exported out of the township for disposal.

The intent of this preliminary evaluation is to narrow down the five alternatives, and give the rationale for doing so. The report will include plans for any further field work required, and set a time frame for selection and implementation of the preferred alternative.

Segsworth proposes that this preliminary assessment could be completed by the end of June, if the MOE agrees with the plan as outlined.

Costs of defending township’s decisions at OMB

Planner Lindsay Mills drew Council’s attention to a section in the township’s planning application which, if not enforced, could cost the taxpayers many thousands of dollars a year.

This happens when either Council or the Committee of Adjustment has approved an application, and the decision is appealed to the OMB (Ontario Municipal Board) by a neighboring property owner. The resultant costs for legal fees, expert witnesses, etc, to defend the township’s decision can run from $6,000 up to substantially more.

Although only the applicant/developer benefits from these expenses, up until now, the township (ie the taxpayers) has paid the costs. However, Mills pointed out, there is a clause in the planning application that requires the applicant to promise to pay any costs incurred by an appeal to the OMB. To date, the township has no procedure for recovering these costs. Mills suggested that a substantial deposit on he submission of planning applications might be one means to address this.

Council directed Mills to recommend how this might be worded, and bring it back to them.

Chief building inspector retires

In a letter to Council, recently retired Chief Building Inspector Alan Revill commented very positively on his 11 years with the township, and thanked Council for his retirement celebration. Jeremy Neven, who was formerly the building inspector for Central Frontenac Township, has been hired as Revill’s replacement.

A Severance is a Severance

In an uncommon move, Council turned down a recommendation from its Committee of Adjustment. The C of A had recommended a reduction of the fee in lieu of parkland in the case of a severance application by Kim Ondaatje, in Portland district, on the grounds that the 72 acres are to be sold to the KFL&A Land Conservancy, and would therefore “be available to some extent to the public.”

Ms Ondaatje’s representative argued that the entire parcel of land could be considered a park. The C of A had recommended that Council charge $100, rather than the usual 5% of the land value. They confirmed that the land conservancy paid property taxes, though they would be at the much lower agricultural rate for any portion classified as ‘managed forest.’

Councilor McPhail noted that the landowner was selling, not donating, the land, and suggested it should be treated as any other severance. The full parkland fee will be charged.

Bellrock Road Pavement Rehabilitation:

Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth recommended that Council accept Cruickshank Construction’s bid of $1,100,564 for ditching and resurfacing two portions of Bellrock Road. Originally, only one section had been slated for rebuilding, but Segsworth said another 860 m of road had been found to be in even greater need of repair. He added that it would be most cost effective to do both sections at the same time. In order to do this, $450,000 budgeted in 2012 for rehabilitation of a section of Perth Road would have to be transferred to Bellrock.

Segsworth said that since Perth Road Crescent is scheduled for rehabilitation next year, those two adjacent projects could be both included in the 2013 budget. Councilor Vandewal said that although he was not opposed to the change in plans, he would have liked more concrete figures demonstrating the cost savings achieved. Several others said they wanted to be sure the Perth Road work would all get done next year, and not be further postponed.

Nonetheless, Council approved Segsworth’s recommendation.

Local Roadside Mowing Program:

Council approved the $34,698 bid provided by Steven Lewis Farms for roadside mowing in Bedford, Storrington and Portland districts, on all roads not maintained directly by township staff. This was the lowest of four bids.

Blasting Concerns:

Councilor Robinson said he had just received a complaint that recent blasting near Star’s Corners had shaken houses along County Road 38. The township will investigate.

Playground Equipment Policy:

A policy proposed for the purchase and maintenance of playground equipment for township parks has been deferred until changes in wording recommended by the South Frontenac Recreation Committee have been incorporated.

County makes significant cuts to sustainability projects:

In a special budget meeting held on March 13, members of Frontenac County Council did not make any changes that will affect the county tax rate, which is now slated to go up by just under 1% after final numbers about provincial transfer payments for Fairmount Home and other cost shared programs have come in.

Council spent most of a 4½ hour meeting reviewing proposed sustainability projects for 2012 - projects that if approved would be funded from a $2 million pool of money from accumulated federal gas tax rebates that the county receives.

The debate resulted in considerable cuts to a number of single and ongoing multi-year projects budgeted for 2012 under the general heading of "Sustainability Projects", and an increase of $125,000 in the amount of gas tax money that will be allocated directly to the four Frontenac member townships.

Under the heading of “Small Scale Community Initiatives” in the draft budget, staff were looking for a proposed increase from the Gas Tax levy - from $50,000 in 2011 to $75,000 in 2012. The funds are used to support grass roots ad hoc community driven projects. Members of council had differing views of the value of supporting some of these projects, which in the past have included Hands on Harvest; the Frontenac Railway Heritage Railway Museum; the Medical Centre in Marysville and Wolfe Island; projects by various lake associations including the Eagle Lake Management Plan; septic re-inspections initiatives in the townships; the Sharbot Lake Farmers Market, to name a few.

South Frontenac Mayor Garry Davison weighed in first. “I think we need to focus on three, four or five key projects and accomplish those tasks and take them off the list before we put any more on, “ he said.

Frontenac Islands Mayor Dennis Doyle agreed.

“In business you always limit projects to the critical few and I think we need to pare down here.”

Anne Marie Young, manager of economic development, disagreed.

“This is an opportunity to build these small events and support the multiple groups of people that build capacity in the community. The fact that we can get out there face to face with these groups and help them to make these smaller scale projects happen, which otherwise might not happen, is something I'm very passionate about.”

Councilor John McDougall of Verona supported the $25,000 increase from last year.

“This is an area where we can make a strategic investment in townships in a very realistic way,” he said.

Warden Janet Gutowski said “These are community hands-on projects that are of value and that are making positive changes in the community and there are valuable spin offs that result.”

In the end county council reduced the funding from the proposed $75,000 back to $50,000.

Council made a number of further cuts to proposed funding for other projects.

Cuts included funds for a transportation study, which were reduced from $75,000 to $10,000. Similarly a proposed Signage Strategy and Implementation project was reduced from $60,000 to $35,000.

As well, a proposed transfer of $50,000 into a $170,000 strategic projects reserve fund was canceled, with council deciding to wait until they can come up with a proposed project before putting any more money into that particular reserve pot.

By consensus, a number of projects were totally eliminated from the 2012 budget, including $30,000 for an Available Land and Building Inventory, $10,000 for a Green Business Park Strategy, $30,000 for a Sustainable Tourism Strategy and $15,000 for a Milk Processing Plant business case.

Among all the cuts there was at least one new project added. Warden Gutowski proposed that $5,000 from the federal gas tax be added to a sustainability waste and landfill review budget study, and Council agreed.

All in all, gas tax allocations were cut by $195,000

K&P funding allocated to NF and the Islands

Council approved spending $260,000 on further development of the K & P Trail in South and Central Frontenac, an expenditure that is projected to be offset by $205,000 in trail related grants that the county will likely receive. Noting that the trail does not run in North Frontenac or Frontenac Islands, North Frontenac Mayor Bud Clayton proposed that $41,600 in gas tax funds should be made available for eco-tourism projects in North Frontenac, and similarly that $26,000 be made available for eco-tourism projects in Frontenac Islands. The dollar amounts relate to 16% of the $260,000 K&P project for North Frontenac and 10% for Frontenac Islands, since North Frontenac ratepayers pay 16% of county taxes and Frontenac Islands ratepayers pay 10%.

Gary Davison said he'd be prepared to support the resolution if the county pays receipts only after the projects are done rather than sending the money beforehand. This stipulation was included in the motion, which was carried.

Later in the meeting Councilor Clayton proposed a resolution to grant $25,000 to support the re-construction project at the Pine Meadow Nursing Home. The motion was not seconded by any other member of Council and was not debated.

With all of the changes, the amount of Federal gas tax money that is being allocated to sustainability projects in 2012, including ongoing multi-year projects and the eco-tourism money for North Frontenac and Frontenac Islands, totals just over $550,000.

Increased infrastructure allocation

Lastly, Councilor Clayton suggested increasing the allocation of county gas tax funds to the townships for local infrastructure projects from $510,000 to $817,000.

After some discussion members of council agreed to increase the allocation by $115,000 to $625,000. 

Swapping bags tags for clear bags -

Central Frontenac Council had announced as part of its new waste management strategy that as of March 31, 2012 the township would no longer be accepting the old bag tags, but only clear bags at its waste sites. Mike Wise, Secretary-Treasurer of the Blue Heron Ridge Road Association of Arden, made a presentation to council about the unfairness of council not giving refunds for unused bag tags. Following his presentation council decided to revisit the new clear bag by-law and after much discussion passed a motion allowing individual households to exchange up to a maximum of $20 worth of numbered bag tags for clear township bags up until September 30, 2012. Exchanges can be made at the township office only and not at waste disposal sites.

Property Standards

Jeremy Neven, the out-going chief building official with Central Frontenac, presented a report to council regarding public input from two public meetings addressing property standards and the results of a public survey regarding the topic. Of the 66 respondents to the survey, roughly 50% wanted to keep the safe Property Standards by-law that is currently in place; 25% wanted to see it revised and another 25% wanted to see a new property standards by-law put in place. Councilor Norm Gunstensperger pointed out that 99% of residents did not fill out a survey or respond to the online survey, thereby showing that they are satisfied with what is currently in place. Neven recommended that council wait until later in the summer to allow seasonal residents to respond. After further discussion council passed a motion directing staff to have further public consultations in the spring and summer months, allowing seasonal residents to weigh in on the issue, and to report back to council.

Proposed Multi-Use Center in Sharbot Lake

On March 13 council announced the approval of two grants of $15,000 each, one from the County of Frontenac and one from the Community Futures Development Corporation, which will enable a preliminary design and feasibility study to proceed for a proposed Multi-Use Cultural Center in Sharbot Lake. The proposed location is the intersection of the K&P and Trans-Canada trails in the village. Of the eight firms who responded to a request for proposal for the study, Basterfield and Associates of Peterborough has been awarded the work at a cost of $29,800. The study should be completed in four months time.

Change to Employee Benefits

Council passed a motion switching their employee benefits provider to Standard Life. CAO Shawn Trépanier said the switch will provide staff with improved healthcare, drug care, dental, short term and long term disability benefits at reduced cost. The motion enables staff to review the change after a year.

Public Works Activity report

Public Works Manager Mike Richardson reported to council that an RFP has been sent out to suppliers for a tandem snow plow truck and that advertisements for tenders for the Crow Lake Bridge and two for the Arden Road will go out in the next upcoming weeks. Work is also being done to update the speed limit by-law and it will be completed this summer.

Staff have also prepared fliers updating ratepayers on the new recycling guidelines, which will be sent out in the local paper. Members of council also suggested sending them out with the second tax notices to residents so that seasonal residents in the area can be made aware of the updates.

Staff are also working with the county to coordinate a comparable training level and awareness of health and safety requirements across the four townships.

North Frontenac discusses septic inspections

Dave Cook and Ed Gardener of KFL&A Public Health attended the meeting to discuss discretionary sewage system maintenance inspections. The difference between mandatory and discretionary is that mandatory inspections are only required where there is a municipal water system, and there are none in North Frontenac.

However, the Ontario Building Code also provides the framework and process for a municipality to develop discretionary septic inspection programs, for which they can pass by-laws "with some teeth", in the words of Dave Cook. He said the township can designate systems in certain areas or over a certain age to be part of the program.

Councilor Fred Perry asked if, since many cottages take their water from lakes, those lakes would be considered a municipal water system.

Dave Cook replied that they would not be, since the health unit recognizes that lakes are subject to contamination from more than human sources - e.g. from animals, etc. and people drawing water from lakes simply have to treat their water.

Perry also asked if anything could be done about cottages that have privies or that discharge grey water into lakes.

Cook replied that privies are not dangerous, as the waste is solid. He said that grey water contains mostly organic matter and some chemicals and should go into a leaching pit, but it is also not as big a concern as water-borne sewage.

He said the health unit finds that a lot of the problems with older cottages are being caught now because people are doing renovations and upgrades. However, he cautioned that council would have to be very careful and very specific about starting a program - once they start they have to continue. North Frontenac has about 4000 septic systems and it would be hard to tackle them all. The inspections have to be funded in some way.

Mayor Clayton asked if the township could put some legislation in place now to cover the possibility that one of its hamlets might put in a municipal water system in the future.

Ed Gardener replied that such a system would have to be inspected after it went in, so putting legislation in place now would be redundant.

Cook and Gardener said people don't realize that it's possible to put in a system that is legal, but still pollutes because of problems with bedrock, etc.

The township will facilitate a meeting between Public Health and Mississippi Valley Conservation, who presently does the township's septic re-inspections.

Better late than never: A belated retirement gift was presented to Courtland Kelford by Mayor Bud Clayton. Mr. Kelford was the road superintendent for Palmerston, North and South Canonto prior to amalgamation and retired in 1998. However, he was not recognized for his service back then and Mayor Clayton has wanted to rectify that for some time.

Addington Highlands request to use NF Hazardous Waste depot: Council approved in principle a request from Addington Highlands Township to let its residents use North Frontenac's Household Hazardous Waste depot. Several councilors expressing the feeling that neighboring municipalities should work together to help each other. However, North Frontenac would require an amendment to its Certificate of Approval, which could cost around $4,700 and they would also have to calculated the cost of hiring additional staff.

Firefighters' fundraising: Fire Chief Steve Riddell had sent an email to council updating them on the Clar-Mill firefighters' upcoming fundraising activities. The proceeds would go towards a set of tracks for the Clar-Mill ATV and towards new self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).

Mayor Clayton pointed out that if council agrees to the activities it is also agreeing to the tracks and SCBA, as the money has to be spent on what it was raised for. He said that since the township has not yet passed its core services bylaw, it is not known whether core services would include ATVs, or ATVs with tracks.

Councilor John Inglis said that the core services bylaw is catch-up legislation; that the departments have been buying trucks and equipment all the time without it. After some debate about the merits and safety of tracked ATVs, council deleted the mention of tracks and approved the fundraisers.

Tipping fees are going up: to $15 for box springs or mattresses, $20 for sofa beds, and $5-$25 for carpets depending on the size. TVs and other electronic waste will be free after the township gets its e-waste bins in place in the near future. The bylaw approving the change will be passed at the next council meeting.

Canada Day celebrations: Paul Thiel, a member of the audience, reported that he had attended a meeting on organizing township-wide celebrations for Canada Day. The idea is to have celebrations in different places - Snow Road, Plevna, etc. The meeting was organized by resident Amber Lemke for March 9, but attendance was low because of bad weather. However, Thiel said that many good ideas were brought up nevertheless - dances, games for children, contests, fireworks, etc. Another meeting will be called soon.

Changes to fishing regulations: Several members of council expressed their intention to attend a public open house on changes to fishing regulations, which will be held on Monday March 19, 6-9pm at the Northbrook Lions Hall. The proposed changes will be for walleye and bass.

Concerns for pedestrian safety: After the meeting, members of the audience were asked for comments, and Russell Gray brought up concerns about pedestrian and bicycle traffic on the roads. He was concerned about people walking in the same direction as the traffic with earphones on. The township will mention the concern to the local lodges and resorts.