Repaving program causing NF taxes to go up

North Frontenac Council has met extensively over the month, looking in detail at departmental budgets before coming together on a draft budget for presentation to the public on April 10.

Citing the need to re-institute a re-paving program on its major arterial roads, and to replenish its depleted reserve funds, Council has signed off on a draft budget that includes a $600,000 increase (14.2%) increase in the amount of money that is being levied to local ratepayers to cover township expenditures.

The levy for 2012 is set at $4,846,000, up from $4,246,000 in 2011.

“We had to put measures in place in order to maintain our basic infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, said Mayor Bud Clayton “and that’s what we did with this budget.”

Council decided to spend $469,000 in 2012 on road construction, a $305,000 increase over 2011. This includes 22 km of re-paving on major roads, which is 10% of the 220 km in the township, as compared to only 10 km in 2011.

In addition to the increased road construction budget, Council decided to put $150,000 into a new Infrastructure Sustainability Reserve Fund.

“We needed this fund because we had nothing set aside for bridges and culvert repairs” said Clayton.

The impact of these two new spending initiatives was compounded by the fact that a grant from the province of Ontario that has been helping to offset maintenance costs of roads for a number of years was depleted as of the end of 2011. That cut township revenues by $373,000, which now needs to be covered through taxes.

These three pieces of the budget led to an increase in taxation of $728,000, and Council had to cut the equipment replacement budget and seek savings in all of the other departments in order to keep the increase at $600,000.

“We asked every department to find savings in their own budgets in order to keep the budget in check, and the reality is that with this budget we think we are putting the township in a sustainable position, so that we can at least keep what we have in future years. It’s one thing to talk about new programs or new infrastructure; it’s another to look at the cost of maintaining what is already there. This is what we worked on this year. There is nothing fancy in this budget,” said Clayton.

Taxation for local services is combined with education and county rates to make up the municipal tax bill for North Frontenac ratepayers. Those are both up marginally or flat for 2012, which will lower the tax increase, probably to something less than 10% for most ratepayers in North Frontenac.

North Frontenac waste sites in good shape

Mainly due to implications drawn from the 2011 census, which saw a decrease in the township’s population, new projections have added two years to the projected fill date for the township’s five active waste sites.

In his annual report to North Frontenac Council, Engineer Guy Laporte from AECOM consulting, said that the township’s largest site, located on Road 506, has 17 years of remaining capacity. The second largest, at Plevna, has 47 years; the Kashwakamak Lake site has 46 years; the Mississippi site 27 years; and the Ardoch site 31 years.

“There are two reasons that waste sites are closed,” said Laporte. “They either reach their capacity or they are found to be causing pollution.”

Based on the ongoing monitoring of the water quality at test wells at the waste sites in North Frontenac, the only site that presents any cause for concern is the Ardoch site.

“Although we are not currently seeing a problem, the vicinity of the site near to a sensitive habitat, i.e. Malcolm Lake, is a concern,” said Laporte. “The township might consider purchasing additional land as a buffer to mitigate against this possibility.”

“Or close the site,” said Mayor Clayton.

“You can look at the cost of land and at the implications of closure and make that determination,” said Laporte.

Laporte also presented information regarding recycling and diversion rates.

Bag for bag, North Frontenac residents recycle more than they toss onto the waste pile at the sites. The numbers, looked at on a site per site basis, show that the ratio is about 1:1 at the 506 site, ranging up to 1.3:1 (64%-36%) at the Ompah transfer station.

However, Waste Diversion Ontario uses a weight measure to determine recycling and diversion targets, based on the assumption that every permanent resident generates 1.5 kilograms per day in waste. On that score, the township has seen steady improvement, with the diversion rate climbing from 22% in 2009, to 38% in 2010 and 40% in 2011. (These figures change when new census data is taken into account)

After Guy Laporte's presentation, Councilor Lonnie Watkins floated the idea of installing large bins or shipping containers at all waste sites, and placing all the waste that is destined for disposal in the bins, the way it is done at transfer stations. When they are full, the bins could be dumped onto the waste pile, compacted and covered, making the waste sites cleaner and ensuring maximum compaction of waste.

Guy Laporte said that East Camden is looking at implementing that kind of system because the Ministry of the Environment is now insisting that the waste that goes in that landfill be covered on the same day it is dumped.

“I can report back to you about how it works out in East Camden,” Laporte said.

Laporte also provided information concerning a couple of requests that the township has received from Addington Highlands. One was to allow Addington Highlands residents who live on Buckshot Lake Road access to the Plevna dump.

“That is a minor variation on your certificate, which will cost $100,” he said.

A second was to open up the North Frontenac Household Hazardous Waste depots to Addington Highlands residents.

Laporte said that AECOM worked on an approval for Lanark Highlands to accept hazardous waste from Tay Valley and “I think the change cost $900,” he said.

Other items

Rachael Hardesty, the General Manager of the Land O’Lakes Tourist Association (LOLTA), presented an update of LOLTA’s activities in recent months.

She said that changes that have been made to the organization, which include turning the LOLTA tourist guide into an online product, have “ensured the organization’s sustainability for at least five years.”

She also announced that the tourist association has received two grants from the Eastern Ontario Development Program. The first is a $92,000 grant to help market local events. This grant included money to pay for an intern for one year to work on the marketing of festivals in Frontenac and L&A Counties and the municipality of Tweed.

“Our goal with this position is to increase attendance at these events by 20%, which would increase their local economic impact substantially,” she said.

The second grant is for $18,000, which will facilitate the production of an episode of the Dimestore Fisherman television program in Central and North Frontenac.

Hardesty also said she is hoping for television exposure for the Land O’Lakes region through the Cottage Life and Outdoor Adventure television programs.

Public Meetings

Township planner Lindsay Mills presented a summary of four recommended amendments to the Official Plan: a) new wording to justify set-backs from waterbodies; b) new policies to allow Plans of Condominium; c) policies for the use of a holding symbol to designate certain conditions must be met before development can proceed on a re-zoned property; and d) to require site plans for multi-unit residential development and for institutional uses.

Discussion centred on the plan of condominium, and the road standard that would be required. Mills recommended that the township use its present standards for private lanes, and Public Works Manager Segsworth confirmed that the present lane standard meets all requirements for emergency services. Councillor McPhail suggested a better road might require less upkeep expenses. Two planners who have condo applications pending spoke in support of the amendment. Both referred to wording Haliburton district has used for similar zoning.

Councillor Vandewal said that he found the wording about set-back distances from water was still too vague. Council deferred acceptance of the report until they could get further comments on the wording about set-backs and roads.

Omaha Orange!

Council approved Segsworth’s recommendation that three trucks be purchased from Taylor Auto Mall, for a total of $89,633 plus HST. (This comes within the amount budgeted.) Vaughan Chrysler was lowest bidder on two of the trucks, but neither of their bids met the township’s colour requirements. In spite of additional cost and longer delivery times, Council has remained adamant that all township trucks must be Omaha Orange. Was it coincidence that Councillor Stowe wore a shirt with Omaha Orange stripes this meeting? We may never know.

North Frontenac Council is taking the slow route to their 2012 budget.

They have already held two day-long budget sessions, and might actually see a draft budget by the middle of March. Meanwhile they have received detailed reports from department heads about the needs that are out there, and have been giving direction back to those department heads.

The have also carried out a strategic planning initiative and have been working on a long-term capital plan for the township as well.

While it is still anyone’s guess what the tax implications of all this planning will be in 2012, Council did approve a set of strategic initiatives this past week, indicating what kinds of initiatives residents can look for from the township in the coming years.

Along with some standard elements such as improving communication and public education about township activities, and promoting economic development, a few new projects were identified as a sub-heading of long term planning.

Among the four projects that were identified, one is the fire hall/ambulance base in Ompah which is now being actively pursued by Frontenac County. It is slated to be built this year if the costing comes in within the $550,000 upper limit the township has set for their portion of costs.

A second long-term project, which Mayor Clayton characterized as a 10-year plan, is a new “Municipal Multi-Purpose Complex" - starting with a municipal office and council chamber.

While this project is still in the visioning stage, one potential location has already been identified, a five-acre lot that houses the township helipad on Road 506 between Ardoch and Fernleigh.

A third project is one that has been talked about in the recent past and is something that would eventually turn a profit – a solar microFIt project, something that might also be located at the helipad site.

The fourth project is a war memorial, which Mayor Clayton said he would like to see completed in time for Remembrance Day in 2013.

The final plank in the strategic directions document is the promotion of Green Energy.

“Under the category of promoting green energy, we are lending money to people to put solar-assist hot water heaters in their houses as the kind of thing the township might get into to help people put in appliances that are efficient and which will bring energy savings over time. The City of Ottawa is looking at this and we have directed our staff to look at it as well,” said Mayor Clayton.

Other items at North Frontenac Council

Phone booth for Snow Road – Council received a letter from a resident requesting that they commission a pay phone to be located next to the mail boxes at the Snow Road Community Hall as a public service. With sporadic cell phone service in that area, it might prove useful to help stranded motorists facing mechanical difficulties or inclement weather. The cost of such a service would be $200 up front and $60 per month.

The council members in attendance, only a minimum quorum of 4, were split on the issue, with some saying it would be a useful service, and others saying it would set a precedent, and phone booths could be requested at a number of very remote locations within the township. In the end a decision was deferred until the next meeting when more councilors are expected to attend.

Request from LOLCS – Land O’Lakes Community Services sent a letter to Council requesting a contribution of $1,500 in the 2012 township budget to help the agency provide services to seniors in ward 1 of the township, which falls within the service catchment area of the Northbrook-based agency. The letter, written by LOLCS Director of Programs Susan Andrew Allen, points out that the money, which has been granted to the agency each of the last two years, is used to subsidize fee for service programs for 47 North Frontenac residents, including meals on wheels and transportation services. The request was referred to budget deliberations.

Discussion of Frontenac County Budget – In briefing members of Council about the ongoing Frontenac County budget deliberations, Mayor Clayton said, “I sense there as a bit more push back from members of Council over the budget this year, frustration over the depth of information that has been provided. We receive a single page of number for programs such as ambulance service and Fairmount Home, which each have a $10 million budget. As we all know the devil is in the details in this sort of thing and if you don’t know the details you can’t find the devil.”

Clayton said he plans to contact the county treasurer before the resumption of county budget deliberations on March 13 to request some of the detailed background financial information.

Clayton said he expects some lively debate on the expenditure of Federal Gas tax funds at the county level this year, and that he would like to address ballooning administrative costs at the county.

“Even though the tax increase for county ratepayers in the budget is minimal I note that the administrative budget has increased by 140% over the last 7 years. As members of county council we are stewards for money spent by City of Kingston residents and the provincial government as well as our own ratepayers. We should provide effective oversight,” Clayton concluded.

Frontenac County sputters towards the budget finish line.

Frontenac County Council cut $20,000 from their 2012 budget during a 2½-hour budget meeting last Wednesday February 15.

The county has a $40 million annual budget, of which only $8 million comes from Frontenac County ratepayers. The Province of Ontario and the City of Kingston pay most of the costs for the two most expensive county-run programs, the Frontenac Land Ambulance Service and the Fairmount Home for the Aged.

Of the $20,000 that was cut from the budget last week, $15,000 came from the budget for county council committees, which was cut to $45,000 from the $60,000 that was proposed.

The other $5,000 in savings came from council members’ own pockets. They voted to cancel a 2.9% pay increase for themselves. Council members’ pay has been tied to the pay settlements for non-unionized county employees, who received a 2.9% increase this year.

“I think we need to send a message of restraint. We know what is happening right now at the provincial level. We know cuts to services and public sector jobs are coming. I think we should not be taking a pay increase,” said South Frontenac Mayor Gary Davison in proposing the cut.

Warden Janet Gutowski disagreed.

“It's hard enough to recruit people for this council, and although the money we receive is minimal for the hours that are required, I hate to see us fall even further behind, so I will not be supporting this motion,” she said.

The motion was carried in an 8-1 vote.

Proposals in the budget to turn two contract positions, a community planner and a communications/sustainability assistant, into full-time positions were both approved after considerable debate.

Mayor Bud Clayton from North Frontenac sought to defer a decision on both positions until after the council decides whether to accept proposals to fund sustainability projects with money from the federal gas tax rebate.

“I think that a lot of the work for these people comes from sustainability projects funded by the federal gas tax. That whole area may be phased out over the next few years and we should not be saddled with full-time employees when that happens. I think we should look at the sustainability budget before we make these positions full time,” he said.

Councilor John Inglis from North Frontenac agreed.

“If I vote for these positions I do so in ignorance. I have not seen an organizational chart.”

To this Warden Gutowski said, “My patience is growing a little short for this kind of argument. The information has been provided and it is up to members of council to get up to speed. We are no longer in our first year.”

Gary Davison then said, “I'm not sure that is accurate. When you are adding new positions you are adding a long-term cost. I think we should focus on three or four key areas for the sustainability plan, instead of just adding three or four new projects each year. We need to get some of those off the slate. I would also like to see us look at the whole organization here.”

While the communications position did get approval, Gary Davison made a motion that the community planner position be kept as a contract position for the next 18 months.

Frontenac Islands Mayor Dennis Doyle spoke against Davison’s motion.

“I'm not sure this is a big budget position,” Doyle said. “Frontenac Islands is now contracting its planning with the county, which pays for part of that salary, and I can add that the service has improved over what we had before and is saving us money. I believe some of the other townships are considering doing the same thing, so money will be coming in to the county to cover the cost of this position.”

“We already have one full-time planner. This is number 2,” replied Gary Davison, “and when we were brought the idea of the county doing planning for the townships, we were told there was already enough capacity to do it without hiring new people. I am definitely going to need to be convinced that this position is necessary.”

Davison's motion to extend the current contract by 18 months was supported by himself and the two councilors from North Frontenac, but was defeated in a 5-4 vote (as Mayor of South Frontenac, Davison has two votes).

A subsequent motion to affirm the full-time position was approved.

One other proposal may have a minor impact on taxation. Dennis Doyle proposed that $6,000 of the $7,000 budget for the Ontarians with Disabilities Committee be taken from reserves instead of charged as taxes. He did this because in 2011 only $1,000 of the $7,000 budget was spent and he thought the money could be carried over. That proposal was deferred until the end of the budget process.

Coming into the February 15 meeting, county taxes were slated to go up by 0.79% or $66,000. That increase will was cut to $46,000 because of the cuts that were made ($40,000 if the transfer from reserves for the Disabilities committee goes through)

A special budget meeting has been set for March 13, when the budget debate will likely be substantially if not entirely completed. County Council meets in regular session on March 20.

After the February 15 meeting, Dennis Doyle, who has been making most of the proposals for minor cuts, said that he thinks that county taxes could be brought to a 0% increase or perhaps a decrease of about 1%.

Based on the tenor of the debate thus far, it is likely that the most strenuous debate will be over an item that does not directly affect county taxes, the allocation of the federal gas tax funds that the county receives.

A number of projects are proposed, but as noted above at least a vocal minority of council members have indicated they would like to see less of those funds going to county projects, and more transferred to the townships themselves to be put towards infrastructure costs.

Editorial by Jeff Green

The recently released census results that show a population decline in Frontenac County is bad news for the region, particularly because permanent residents are the mainstay of the local economy.

Most of our businesses are devoted to building and fixing houses, delivering services to the people in those houses, and where possible, feeding and selling products to the 26,375 people who live in Frontenac County.

With the exception of some farmland in the south end of the county, and a few logging operations in the north end, catering to the seasonal and permanent populations is all there is to Frontenac County economy.

Fortunately, the permanent population is augmented by at least as many seasonal residents, but as local retailers in particular know full well, ten months of shoulder seasons between a July 1 to August 31 high season is a very, very long time.

The latest census is only one piece of information, and other factors suggest the situation is better, particularly construction activity, which has been steady since 2006, and in 2011 was very strong in South Frontenac ($30 million) and Central Frontenac ($8 million).

Information about poverty rates and aging, and unemployment are not so positive, particularly in the north end of the county.

Another way of putting the latest census into context is to look at previous census data. All of the Frontenac townships saw an increase in permanent population between 2001 and 2006, with South Frontenac gaining over 1,750 residents, an increase of over 11%. In all, the Frontenac County population jumped by over 2,200 people between 2001 and 2006, an increase of 9%, and in comparison the drop between 2006 and 2011 was minimal, only 283 people, or 1.1%

The re-assuring aspect to all this is that more people live in Frontenac County in 2011 than did in 2001, by a fair bit. The disheartening thing is that the healthy growth between 2001 and 2006 has dissipated.

It is also disheartening that among neighbouring counties, Frontenac is the only one that actually lost people.

Lanark County saw an increase of 3%, and Lennox and Addington had 3.2% growth, while Leeds and Grenville was basically stagnant with 0.1% growth.

A week after the census data came out, Frontenac County Council met last week to discuss their budget. At that meeting there was a real sense that a number of councilors are uncomfortable with the way the entire Integrated Sustainability program that the county undertook several years ago has been playing out.

At one point, Warden Janet Gutowski expressed her exasperation with what some of the councilors were saying.

“It seems clear that members of council would like to revisit the county's Strategic Plan,” she said.

Rather than re-jigging something as nebulous as their strategic plan, county council might consider something else, giving their entire sustainability department the task of bringing more people into the county.

Over the past five years, the county has accumulated a number of employees to deal with sustainability.

Under this catch-all category, there are now two planners, a manager of economic development, a GIS department, and an assistant/communications person.

That department is ideally placed to spearhead efforts at selling the county as a place to live, and in fact it is already engaged in a number of initiatives in the areas of seniors housing and land use planning that are based on keeping people here and bringing new ones in. Council needs only to nudge those efforts forward, and push other initiatives aside for now.

The 150th anniversary of Frontenac County is coming up, and the county is planning to celebrate its history. That look back could be tied right in with a recruitment drive.

The census figures might be the kind of thing that should set off alarm bells, but it is a fact that Frontenac County cannot afford to lose more people, and with a population that is aging faster than the provincial average, it will take a lot of work to stem the tide of population decline.

The first thing that needs to happen is for Frontenac County Council to muster up some leadership.

The goal of creating a sustainable population base would be something that the council could lay out for itself and its employees.

That goal can be put in concrete terms. What about striving for a population of 29,000 in the 2016 census and measuring all ‘sustainability’ efforts against that outcome?

Treasurer paints stark picture of infrastructure deficit

In a presentation to Frontenac County Council last week, Treasurer Marion Vanbruinessen outlined some of the findings that are contained in a report that was released in early March by the Eastern Ontario Warden’s Caucus (EOWC)

Entitled “Facing Our Fiscal Challenges” the report provides a factual background for the insight that was the impetus for the establishment of the EOWC 10 years ago – namely that Eastern Ontario municipalities have been saddled with infrastructure costs for roads, bridges, water treatment plants, etc. that are well beyond the capacity of the local tax base to pay for.

The executive summary of the report sums up the accumulated data about local finances, repairs that are needed, income and employment levels, the ageing population, and more.

It comes to the following conclusion:

“Together, these data paint a picture of a region which – without a creative response – will have increasing difficulty sustaining local government services in the years ahead. In virtually all cases, these financial stresses did not develop overnight, nor will they be resolved overnight. However, there is an increasingly urgent need for all levels of government to begin the process of developing policies and financial strategies which recognize the limitations of the assessment base and its ratepayers, enable local governments to better manage costs of service delivery, and create more prosperous local economies.”

Vanbruinessen teased out the data for Frontenac County from the report, and said that the situation in Frontenac is, if anything, worse than it is in Eastern Ontario as a whole.

“Frontenac County has the lowest level of commercial assessment among Eastern Ontario counties,” Vanbruinessen said.

“We have had little to no population growth, low rates of residential growth, and our population is ageing faster than the provincial average. Our municipal debt ratio is up by 107% since 2001 as well, and we are more dependent on taxes and user fees than other municipalities in the region,” she said.

Vanbruinessen also said that in terms of resurfacing needs, it would cost $104 million to bring the county up to standard; $500 million if needed reconstruction projects are included.

“The average age of our bridges and culverts is 38 years. Frontenac County should be spending $25 million per year to address those deficits,” she concluded.

In spite of the bleak presentation by the treasurer, South Frontenac Mayor Gary Davison seemed unmoved.

“This is not a startling revelation,” he said, "We know these assets are very tough to manage. This is only really reaffirming what we already know.”

“It does show that the rural municipalities are facing more challenges than urban ones,” said Warden Janet Gutowski in response.

Frontenac County budget sits at 1% increase, set to be finalized on April 4

As Frontenac County Council teetered towards completing its 2012 budget at the tail end of their monthly meeting, plans to set aside $150,000 for the 150th anniversary celebration that is coming up in three years sparked an unexpectedly heated response from Frontenac Islands representative David Jones.

“$150,000 on a party? My constituents will see red over this. May I speak frankly here? I think this is nonsense,” he said.

South Frontenac Mayor Gary Davison, who sits on the 150th anniversary committee, said that the committee is only asking that $150,000 be moved from the county’s $4 million working capital reserve fund to a new 150th anniversary reserve fund as a placeholder. He said that before any of that money is spent council would be consulted.

“I would refer to Councilor Jones’ reference to a party,” Davison added, “I think it is a celebration of where we have come from and what has been accomplished over 150 years. I see a benefit in showing off where the Frontenacs are.”

Jones was unmoved.

“It is a party geared at the mainland. It will take place on the mainland. It will be a non-event for the Islands,” Jones said.

Jones, who represents Howe Island to Frontenac Islands Township, then revealed at least a partial source of his opposition to putting money aside for the 150th anniversary bash. Last year, a group from Howe Island came to the county looking for $1,000 to support an event that they were organizing on the island.

“The county knocked us back to $250,” he said.

Warden Janet Gutowski, who also sits on the 150th anniversary committee, said, “We should all be proud of Frontenac County, and the anniversary is an opportunity for that sort of recognition. The committee has not yet fully developed the program for the events, and has simply looked at other similar events and the costing for staging them. I would suggest it would be good for the committee to have some seed money. There is no consensus on the $150,000. Can I suggest we make a decision to lower that to $50,000?”

Council member John Purdon said there is no reason for council to pre-approve spending and the money should stay in the working capital reserve fund until the committee has a fixed use for it.

“I agree with Councilor Purdon,” said Frontenac Islands Mayor Dennis Doyle.

With no consensus around the table, Warden Gutowski said the anniversary reserve would be pulled from the 2012 county budget.

As to the overall budget, Gutowski asked if council had any more to add before approving the document. Council has looked at the 2012 budget during its last three monthly meetings and at a special budget meeting earlier in March.

While there have been impacts on county activities as the result of those budget sessions, particularly in regards to a number of proposed sustainability-related projects that have been jettisoned, the net impact of the budget on county ratepayers has not been altered. It currently stands at a 1% increase.

Frontenac Islands Mayor Dennis Doyle said that he is not ready to close the book on the budget as of yet.

“I think we need to have another meeting to look at some of the items that were flagged early on that we never settled,” he said.

“I agree with Mayor Doyle,” said David Jones. “I have not seen the bottom line from all these discussions. I think we need another meeting.”

Council will meet on April 4, at 9:00, and it is expected the budget will be finalized at that time.

CF Council appoints new fire chief

Council passed a motion appointing long-time Deputy Fire Chief Bill Young as the township's new fire chief. He replaces outgoing Chief Mark MacDonald. Mayor Gutowski congratulated Chief Young following his monthly report to council.

“We're very pleased to be able to offer the position to an internal candidate who has the support of the volunteers and who we feel is very deserving of the position”, she said.

Vehicle tenders awarded

Public Works Manager Mike Richardson made a presentation to council outlining his recommendations for the purchase of two new vehicles for the township's fleet. The first was for the purchase of a tandem snow plow, which was approved in the 2012 budget.

Of the three bids received, council went with Richardson's recommendation to purchase the plow from Oakes Truck Sales in Perth. Their bid was the lowest, for a 2012 International at a cost of $192,310 plus taxes. The second vehicle approved by council for purchase, which was also budgeted for 2012, was a new 2012 Ford 150 Super cab 4x4 half ton truck. The tender was awarded to Revell Ford in Verona at a cost of $27,995 plus taxes.

Sharbot Lake CIP Report

Peter Young and Anne-Marie Young from Frontenac County updated council on the township's Community Improvement Plan, which gained input from area businesses at a meeting held earlier this month at Oso hall. Councilors reiterated some of the public suggestions for increased signage.

Councilor Norm Guntensperger asked, “How broad an area can it encompass?”

Peter Young answered that right now the Sharbot Lake area has been Council’s focus but that the plan could be broadened in the future.

Policing Costs

On the topic of increased policing costs to the municipality and in response to a letter received from OPP Commissioner Chris D. Lewis, Councilor Guntensperger suggested requesting a report from the OPP so Council can better understand the reasons for the increases.

Mayor Gutowski agreed. She will send a letter to the commissioner requesting a detailed report of OPP services and costs in the municipality.

Debate unfolds re: proposed meeting of public works managers

A heated discussion ensued regarding a proposed resolution forwarded by County Council to the four Frontenac townships. The resolution requested support for a meeting of public works managers to discuss the fiscal challenges highlighted in a report presented at the Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus.

The resolution was put forward by Mayor Gutowski at a recent meeting of County Council and she opened the discussion, stating, “My hope is that there will be the political will to direct our public works managers to get together, brain storm and try to come up with some common and long term strategies about these major issues. My hope is that by the end of this year we find some common ground and utilize the County more effectively.”

Both Councilors Frances Smith and Bill Snyder strongly opposed the resolution, with Snyder calling the proposed meetings “a waste of time”.

Councilor Smith said, “We've done this before and it has never worked. What we will end up with is a county roads system and to me it is just another department of county council that cannot do the work more cheaply and more efficiently than we can.”

Councilor Purdon said he would support the resolution and made efforts to clarify the purpose of the proposed meetings.

“This is not just about regular road maintenance and winter roads operations; this is about the long term and bigger issues, like when Road 38 eventually needs paving again and there might not be the funds available for us to do it. It makes sense for us to get together and look at some of these bigger issues.”

Mayor Gutowski agreed.

“I think we need to have a long term strategy in place for the entire County in order to broaden the discussion and to encourage opportunities and grants that might be available on the county level. We need to utilize our local expertise at least in terms of conversation at this point.”

Mayor Gutowski requested a recorded vote on the resolution. It was passed 6-2, with Councilors Smith and Snyder voting against it.

Denied tenderer looks for answers

In a delegation to council, Dennis Scott, who put in two separate tender bids for cleaning and garbage pick up in the township and whose bids were both denied, was looking for an explanation.

“Considering the fact that both of my bids were low, I want to know what other factors were considered, for the sole purpose that I can know how better to approach the bidding in the future and also how to improve on the services that I am offering,” he said.

Scott added that he has had many contracts with the township in the past and had never received any negative feedback on the services that he has provided.

"It's a collective council decision that's made and it does not necessarily have to go to the lowest bid,” replied Mayor Gutowski. “There are also other factors that come into play such as services offered and performance reviews.”

CAO Shawn Trépanier, who has met with Scott a number of times on this subject, said that the township does not have to give reasons why tenders are not accepted since that would make for too many time consuming explanations.

“Fair enough but if I don't have any knowledge about what I am doing wrong and have never received any complaints, how do I know how to go about changing and improving what I do?” asked Scott.

Burn ban - A burn ban has been declared in Central Frontenac.

South Frontenac backs off Caterpillar protest

South Frontenac Township's solicitor has poured cold water on Councilor Bill Robinson's proposal that the township refuse to buy a piece of road equipment, a vibratory roller, from Caterpillar, even though the price of the Caterpillar roller was marginally lower than the next lowest priced machine.

While the township is not obligated to choose the lowest priced bid, the reasons why the lowest bid may be refused that were listed in the standard tender document that was issued for the roller only deal with “value and advantage based upon price, ability, quality of work, proposed schedule, past experience, past performance and qualification.”

In this case the explicit reason for the proposal to choose the higher priced machine is the labour practices of Caterpillar, which demanded that employees at their London, Ontario plant take a 50% pay cut and then pulled out of Canada entirely when the workers refused to take the cut.

According to a written report by township CAO Wayne Orr, “Legal counsel advises that council should be cautious in changing the criteria for evaluating tenders mid-way through the process. In similar situations the courts have not looked favourably on such actions. Any decision to proceed with a tender that is not the lowest price when all the specifications have been met places the township at risk."

“It says that it is council's decision. What Caterpillar has done sets a whole new precedent for working families in Canada, a dangerous precedent, and all our tenders say we don't need to choose the lowest bid. We can do this and stand up to Caterpillar,” said Bill Robinson.

“I don't think that we are in a position to challenge the advice from our lawyers,” said Mayor Davison, “even though I have sympathy with your point of view, Councilor Robinson.”

In straw vote, 5 of the 6 councilors at the meeting supported buying from Caterpillar. The matter will come to a final vote at next week's Council meeting.

Vacant land condominium road standards – Township Planner Lindsay Mills addressed Council about a planning tool that South Frontenac is adding to their Official Plan.

In addition to Plans of Subdivision, which the township uses for most developments that involve multiple undersized building lots, the township is going to permit vacant land condominium developments. Vacant land condominiums are less onerous on developers, and the main difference between them and Plans of Subdivision is in the legal status of the common road that all residents in the development use to get to their own property. In Plans of Subdivision, the developer must build a road to the township's public road standard, and the road is then taken over and maintained by the township. Under a condominium agreement, the common road remains with the property owners, who share in the cost of maintaining it.

Lindsay Mills recommended that the standard for condominium roads should be lower than the public road standard.

Councilor Allan McPhail disagreed.

“We need to set a high standard at the start,” he said.

Councilor Cam Naish said, “Condominium roads are and will remain private. They do not belong to us, so why should we impose our high standards?”

Again a straw vote was taken, which indicated that the lower standard will likely prevail when the matter comes before Council next week. 

Draft Frontenac County budget calls for 1.34% levy increase

At their final meeting of 2011, members of Frontenac County Council received the 2012 draft budget from the County Finance Department.

The county expects to spend just over $42 million in 2012, which is a drop of almost $1.8 million from the 2011 total of $43.8 million. This decrease is due mainly to the fact that in 2011 the cost of a new ambulance base and library in Sydenham were included in the county budget, and no large construction projects are planned for 2012.

The two major services that the county provides are the Fairmount Home for the Aged and the Frontenac Land Ambulance Service. Both are cost shared with the City of Kingston and the Province of Ontario.

The proposed increase in operating costs for Fairmount Home is $53,000, a 2.49% increase, which will edge the home’s budget over $10 million. Of that, the draft budget calls for $735,400 to come from Frontenac County taxpayers, an increase of $18,000 from 2011.

The total cost of the Frontenac Land ambulance is projected to rise above $15 million in 2012, an increase of over $500,000, but the province will be increasing their subsidy to the service by over $300,000 and the net increase to Frontenac County taxpayers will be just under $50,000, or 3.31%.

All told the draft budget calls for a levy of $8,510,000 to taxpayers, an increase of $112,182 (1.34%) from 2011.

While members of county council simply received the draft budget for information and will be conducting their budget debate at their January meeting, they did debate one item that is connected to the budget, a proposed pay increase for non-unionized staff.

A human resources report recommends increasing pay for non-unionized staff (which includes members of county council) by 2.9% in 2012. This reflects a cost of living increase plus some extra to bring the pay for professional staff more in line with the average costs in other municipalities.

“I can’t agree with that,” said Warden Gary Davison (the budget discussion took place before Davison tendered his resignation as warden). “We are going into contract negotiations with unionized staff in 2012 and this is not the kind of example we should be setting. We are looking at 2% as a kind of limit and I think we should stick to that for our non-unionized staff and members of council.”

The item was ultimately deferred to the next meeting.

Garrison Shores – Without fanfare, the plan of condominium to create individual and shared lots on Garrison Lake near Arden was approved by council. Two members of the Garrison Shores Association were on hand to witness the end of a 30-year planning and legal quagmire.

County agendas publicly available. The county agenda packages are now available online for the public at the county website by clicking on the council tab. All agendas and reports and minutes from previous meetings will be uploaded and archived using the FilePro document management system. The archives will be searchable as well.

Gutowski wins the draw and becomes Frontenac County warden

For the past 13 years the annual election of the Frontenac County warden has been an election in name only. Each year the warden has tendered his or her resignation and the next in line, the deputy warden, has been the only nominee and has been acclaimed to the post.

After an election, if the incumbent warden has been re-elected in their township, they usually stay on as warden for the first year in order to provide continuity.

That was what happened in 2011 when South Frontenac’s returning mayor, Gary Davison, stayed on as county warden. Janet Gutowski, also a returning mayor, who had served as warden in 2009, took on the deputy warden role. It was understood that the two other mayors, first timers Dennis Doyle from the Frontenac Islands, and Bud Clayton from North Frontenac would take their turns in the third and fourth years of the county council mandate.

That was the way Gary Davison thought things were going at the December 14 meeting of Frontenac County Council.

He announced his resignation and then called for nominations. Councilor John McDougall from South Frontenac nominated Janet Gutowski and John Purdon from Central Frontenac seconded the nomination.

Just as Gary Davison was about to declare Gutowski elected, another hand shot up.

“I nominate Bud Clayton,” said Councilor John Inglis from North Frontenac, and Councilor David Jones from Frontenac Islands seconded the nomination.

Janet Gutowski looked surprised, and County CAO Liz Savill said she had to confer with Deputy Clerk Susan Beckel about preparing ballots for the unexpected vote.

Gary Davison gave each candidate an opportunity to say a few words.

“As you know, in the last term council decided to expand in an effort to bring changes to the county. I feel it is time for the new council to step forward and bring in someone that will do what the previous council expected us to do,” said Clayton.

“I feel my experience speaks for itself and I have a track record of collaboration,” said Gutowski. “I feel we have a good staff in Frontenac County. It does take a lot of time to be the warden. I can assure council that I will make my best efforts to work diligently on their behalf.”

Susan Beckel then handed each council member a piece of paper and said they should write the name of their preferred candidate on the paper. Once that was done, she gathered up all the pieces of paper.

A minute later CAO Savill came to the head of the council table and said, “There has been an equality of votes”.

Now it appeared as if all eight members of council were surprised.

When Frontenac County Council expanded from four to eight members at the beginning of this term, it was decided that whoever was the mayor of South Frontenac would have two votes, to give council nine votes. That was in order to give South Frontenac, which includes almost 60% of the population, some extra clout and it would also avoid deadlocked votes.

So why the tie vote?

“Each council only has one vote for the election of officers,” said Susan Beckel. She later explained that that was one of the stipulations in the procedural bylaw that council passed in 2010.

Liz Savill then said, “We’ll have to draw for a winner.”

She wrote the two names on two pieces of paper, folded them and put them in a hat.

Gary Davison pulled one and handed it to Savill.

“Janet Gutowski is the new warden,” Savill said.

With that, the deputy warden position came open.

Once again there were two nominees, Bud Clayton and Dennis Doyle. Another vote was taken and Dennis Doyle was declared the winner.

Afterwards Warden Gutowski said that the split on council that the vote for warden revealed was “just part of the growing pains of the new makeup of council. To me it is all water under the bridge and we will now move forward.”

She also said that one of her major goals for 2012 will be to get work on a County Official Plan off to a good start, to engage the City of Kingston in more meaningful discussions about shared issues, and to start addressing the infrastructure needs of the member townships in the County.

(Note – At this time only the four mayors are eligible for election as warden or deputy warden. In order to be eligible, a member on county council must have been elected by all the electors in his/her township, and not just by electors in one ward.)

The Good Life Editorial by Jeff Green

Normally every year we print 50 issues of the Frontenac News and then take two weeks off for Christmas and New Year’s. Every few years, because of the way the weeks line up, we put out a 51st paper before having our annual holiday. That’s what happened this year, and although you wouldn’t think it should matter that much if you add one week to 50, it makes a psychological difference.

When I trudged down to Glenburnie for the December Frontenac County Council meeting last Wednesday morning I was certainly feeling it. It was the day after issue number 50, and my body wanted to be on holiday, but I had no one to blame but myself for deciding to go 51 weeks in the first place.

Not much happened at the meeting until the end, when a rift on council was revealed through what was ultimately an entertaining election for warden; at least it was entertaining to the two of us in the press gallery.

Still, as I was driving over to St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Sydenham after the council meeting I was still feeling like I’d have rather stayed in bed. But when I got to the church and walked into the New Leaf Link Open House I started to feel better.

There was a lot of energy in the room; the volunteers and students all work pretty hard to build a better life for themselves, and they have built an infectious kind of camaraderie.

It even made me feel better about Frontenac County Council. For all the politicking, and all the machinations that go on among members of council, county staff, and yes, the press, everyone is really only trying to make things a little bit better - even if they think everyone else is doing it all wrong.

Ultimately, what we have the privilege to bring to our readers each week are stories about the efforts that people in our region are making, sometimes against heavy odds, to live a good life.

The Good Life is a concept that comes from the Aboriginal heritage that infuses this region. It means that we take the time to look around, to live fully within our physical surroundings, to suffer as little as possible and to help our neighbours suffer as little as possible as well.

The Good Life is not the wealthy life nor is it necessarily the happy life. Happiness is not something we can control, but the good life is an engaged life that faces up to suffering as well as joy.

In one way or another, just about every story we cover all year long in The Frontenac News is about things that people have done or are doing in trying to live a good life. From the stories about school activities to volunteer fund raising efforts, to a fight over how to spend tax money or about someone who is opening a new business, a community newspaper is really about the struggle to build a good life.

People don’t always succeed, and we don’t always succeed in telling their stories well, but the struggle is a worthy effort and that’s what keeps all of us going week after week.

At the same time, we all know that we have to make a living; we have to get by; we have to generate income.

But living as we do in a rural environment, we know that the goal is not so much to make a good living, it is to make a decent living and live a good life.

We don’t celebrate people for their wealth in these communities or in this newspaper. We sometimes celebrate what people do with their wealth, but wealth is not the be all and end all.

We’ll be back on January 12 with our first edition of 2012, and we will be joining the Facebook Generation and the Twitterverse in the New Year, leading up to the launch later in the year of a new web-based service to complement our print edition.

Happy Christmas.