AH Council to tackle tricky roads issue, later –

Periodically, requests come into Addington Highlands Council to provide some sort of maintenance, ranging from minimal grading to major repairs, on roads that are owned but no longer maintained by the township.

There is usually some memory, either on the part of the resident or a long-time member of township staff, of a time when the road was maintained, but at some point either no one was living on the road or the use was reduced to a couple of weeks in the summer or hunting season, and the road fell off the summer and winter maintenance schedule.

Council is currently faced with a number of requests for limited maintenance on “un-maintained township roads” and Reeve Henry Hogg brought the matter to council’s attention at their meeting on October 3.

“We have no money right now. The first thing we need to do is let people know that there is nothing in our budget this year. A short ‘no’ is better than a long ‘maybe’. After that we can look at a policy for next year and at our 2012 budget,” said Reeve Hogg.

“Maybe this year we can work on a policy, and accept applications in future years,” said Councillor Adam Snider.

“I think it’s high time we do this. We have to start somewhere and this is a good place to start,” said Councillor Helen Yanch. “People have to have a road to get to their property.”

Roads Superintendent Royce Rosenblath said he did not think that he had the time or the expertise to come up with a policy.

“It’s going to be a legal document,” he said. “We might need a consultant to help us with this.”

Council does have a roads committee, which has not been meeting on a regular basis, but they will be able to look at the broad issues, and the engineering firm that the township uses for road and bridge construction and biennial roads need studies, Jewel Engineering, will be approached to provide input to the committee.

Clerk Treasurer Jack Pauhl pointed out for council’s benefit that according to Rusty Russel, the author of “Russel on Roads”, which is the most renowned text on the legalities surrounding municipal roads, a township is within its rights to pass a bylaw to eliminate its responsibility for roads without closing the roads.

“Nobody has actually attempted to do this to my knowledge,” Pauhl added.

Pauhl will contact everyone who has requested maintenance on this class of roads to inform them that there will be no work done in 2011, and Royce Rosenblath will be contacting Jewell Engineering.

Lake association to look at Official Plan – James Oborne attended as a delegation to Council. Oborne has recently taken over as president of the Skootamatta and District Ratepayers Association (SDRA), and he appeared before council for two purposes. One was to calm some ruffled feathers after the association’s Annual General Meeting in August.

“At the AGM there were some statements made that the township is fixing up roads for loggers. We can assure you that has never happened. But to hear those statements from the president of the association makes me not want to attend next year’s meeting,” said Henry Hogg.

“I apologise for that statement,” said James Oborne, “it does not reflect the views of the current executive.”

Oborne also talked about some of the issues that have led to delays in the development of a lake plan for Skootamatta, Sheldrake and Pringle Lakes, which are part of the SDRA territory.

Health issues among active members of the association, along with starting up a side project on the history of the lake are two of the major factors causing the delay, he said.

This brought him to the second purpose of his visit.

“As a lakeside community, we are asking for permission from council to start a dialogue with Mr. John Uhliana of the IBI group, the consultants who are working on the update to the Addington Highlands Official Plan,” said Oborne. “There are a number of issues we would like to address.”

Financial statements - At the close of his 30-minute discussion of township finances, including capital costs, reserve funds, pension responsibilities, etc., Martin Secker, of the firm Secker, Ross and Perry, pointed out that “with a payroll of $1.1 million, the township itself is the largest employer in Addington Highlands, and even though not all of the other million spent by the township in goods is spent locally, the township is definitely a very large player in the local economy.”

Garbage burning complaint - Council debated how to deal with complaints about garbage that was being burned in the village of Flinton, leading to calls for a ban on outdoor burning in villages or even a township-wide ban of burn barrels, which has happened elsewhere. Fire Chief Casey Cuddy said that people should contact him at the burn permit number, 613-336-1850, with their complaints.

Loader/backhoe and fire hall roof – A new JCB Loader/backhoe, which is replacing an 18-year-old machine, will be purchased from Joha Equipment.

The roof at the Denbigh Hall is being replaced, but the contractor’s price to buy and install a new fan was higher than the budgeted amount, and one will not be purchased at this time.

Neighbouring counties and Denbigh ambulance

The Denbigh ambulance base, whose fate will be decided by Lennox and Addington County Council as early as the end of October, came to the fore at a meeting of North Frontenac Council this week.

Paul Isaacs, from the Denbigh Ambulance Network, submitted a copy of the presentation he had made at Lennox and Addington County two weeks earlier. His presentation attacked the consultant’s report by the IBI group of Toronto, saying the report, which recommends closing the Denbigh base and replacing it with a base in Loyalist Township, is full of “egregious” errors.

Accompanying Paul Isaacs was Peter Emon, the mayor of the Township of Greater Madawaska, who travelled to the meeting in Snow Road from his home in Calabogie. Emon also attended the L&A County meeting in Napanee on September 14, and a meeting of the Denbigh ambulance network on September 22.

“The Denbigh ambulance is important for our area, your area as well. If there is a single ambulance based at Northbrook, it is still going to be pulled away to Kaladar for backup, or could get called out, leaving North Frontenac and Madawaska Highlands without any service,” Emon said, “so this of interest to our ambulance service in Renfrew. Lennox and Addington made a slight shift in suggesting for the first time at their meeting in Napanee that Denbigh is a regional ambulance. That might be significant. It might be suggested that you look at your own Frontenac service in light of all this.”

“It might be a bit of an uphill battle,” said John Inglis, a North Frontenac representative to Frontenac County Council. “Our land ambulance coordinator suggested that closing Denbigh would improve response times in North Frontenac as the new Northbrook base is located closer to Cloyne.”

“At this Council table, you are preaching to the converted,” said North Frontenac Mayor Bud Clayton, “we all recognize the importance of the Denbigh base, but that does not mean, as John said, that we speak for Frontenac County.”

At the September 22 Denbigh Ambulance Network meeting, Emon said that he had talked to both the warden and chief administrative officer of Renfrew County, and they were both receptive to the idea of Renfrew County making a financial commitment investment, with certain guarantees, towards maintaining the Denbigh base. The estimated annual cost of running a 24-hour service is $1 million. The province of Ontario pays about half that operating cost, leaving $500,000 for L&A ratepayers to cover.

“There are three other counties that are served by the Denbigh base, Frontenac, Renfrew and Hastings… That would mean a commitment of $125,000 a year for a shared service. In Renfrew County our ambulance costs are $5.5 million a year, so $125,000 is something we might consider,” Emon said at the Denbigh meeting.

The idea of sharing costs did not come up at the North Frontenac Council meeting.

Arcol Road bridges to be rebuilt: Two bridges on the Arcol Road, a crown land road leading to Granite, Hungry, Mair and Govan Lakes, have been declared unsafe by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR). The replacement cost is about $128,000.The MNR is willing to kick in $103,000 and the township has secured a $15,000 commitment from the Eastern Ontario Tourist Association, using grant money the have received from the province. The net cost to the township is about $10,000, but there is a rush to move on the project. For one thing, moose hunting starts on October 17, and secondly, with a provincial election underway, there is a sense that it might not be wise to wait until after October 6 before getting started.

Council approved a proposal to go ahead with the project as soon as possible, and will proceed by seeking verbal quotes from local contractors to complete the work.

Fire Report: Fire Chief Mark McDonald presented his report to council. Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 9 - 15 and the department will be bringing their Combat Challenge to Sharbot Lake High School students in October. The department will also be going live with their new electronic dispatch system shortly and it will utilize text and voice mail calls to members’ cell phones and will act as a back up to their radio dispatch system.

Winter Sand Tender awarded: Council passed a unanimous motion granting Nedow Construction Inc. the winter sand tender at a cost of $199,500, which was the lowest bid.

Library Report: Councillor John Purdon presented his report to council, updating them on the current issues facing rural libraries. After touring a number of libraries in the area he concluded, “What we need to have is a plan. What we definitely don't want is to go down the same road that the Plevna and Ompah branches went down. If we have a plan to justify our requests and work in cooperation with the library board and school board we should be able be able to move forward in a timely fashion. ”

He suggested the next step is discussing the issue in the context of the municipality’s Strategic Plan.

Upcoming Lake Links Workshop: Gray Merriam made a presentation to council, inviting members to attend the 10th annual Lake Links Workshop to take place in Perth on Saturday, October 29 at the Civitan Hall. The workshop is free and attracts visitors from over 40 lake associations from all over Eastern Ontario. The focus at the workshop will be on planning issues related to sustainable development around the lakes. Merriam said, “You have one of the richest distribution of lakes anywhere in the settled parts of Ontario and because you folks will be adopting the final planning decisions for the area I thought you would be interested.”

Request for Approval of a Private Firing Range: Mr. Kirk Livingstone, of Oak Flats Road in Godfrey, submitted documents from the Chief Firearms Office for council’s consideration. The documents outlined the process of approval for a request to operate a private firing range. One of the necessary requirements the letter listed is an original letter from the municipality where the range is be located, stating that they have no objections and that the range will not contravene any municipal by-laws and regulations relating to its use and the discharging of fire arms.

Council received the documents for information and passed a motion to look into the matter further and to take up the issue at the next council meeting.

Strategic Plan for South Frontenac

In the summer, council worked with a facilitator to develop a strategic plan for the Township. Council reviewed the summary document, which contains Mission, Vision and Strategic Directions, and agreed it should be brought to the next meeting to be adopted, so timelines could be set, and further direction for implementation be given to staff. In summary, the five strategic directions were: 1)Develop a policy framework for managing growth, the planning process and the demand for services, 2) Develop a plan for managing assets included a consolidated capital plan, 3)Develop and implement a communications plan, 4) Develop along-term plan to manage human resources, 5)Improve governance and processes. Once adopted, the full document will doubtless be posted on the website (see #3 above).

2012 Budget

When approving the last budget,Council directed staff to bring the 2012 budget forward in time for approval in 2011. In spite of the need to orientate a new treasurer, and the fact that some information will not yet be available from other agencies (eg. Ministry and County funding and Conservation and OPP costing), Council agreed that it should still be possible to complete the 2012 budget before the new year. They have suggested a full-day Saturday meeting may be necessary. Mayor Davison reminded Council that when deciding what would constitute a reasonable amount of growth, it was essential to remember that the percentage of increase in the budget was not the same amount as the property tax increase.

Other Items

Deputy Mayor Tinlin, who chairs the Police Services Board, distributed a sample of an eight-page information flyer published by another detachment. The PSB has recommended this would be an excellent means of communicating information about police services to the public. Council agreed to include supporting a portion of the cost of a one-time publication in their budget discussions.

A letter from the Verona Community Association expressing ‘concern about the current condition of the Verona cemetery’ led to a more general discussion of township cemeteries, which are all South Frontenac services. Mayor Davison noted that as such, their regulations and fees should be consistent across the township. In response to the suggestion that perhaps the cemetery boards should be amalgamated, Councillor Vandewal noted “It’ll go as smooth as SF recreation, but worse.”

In response to a request from the Nature Conservancy of Canada, which has purchased the former Hewlett-Packard property in Loughborough/Storrington areas, Council reaffirmed their long-standing policy to not close and sell unopened road allowances leading to waterfronts.

Lennox & Addington Council has decided to seek a new home for the Northbrook ambulance base, and a request for proposal for a piece of land located on Highway 41 between Northbrook and Denbigh will be set out this week.

That was the easy part for the council.

It was also relatively easy for them to decide to stop sending the Northbrook ambulance to Tamworth on standby when both Napanee cars are out on calls, a practice that resulted in only 2 service calls last year and 5 in 2009.

It will be more difficult, wrenching even, for them to come to grips with the recommendation of a consultant’s report to close the Denbigh base and replace it with one in Loyalist Township, halfway between Kingston and Napanee. That recommendation will be considered at a meeting in late October, at the earliest.

The Denbigh issue was front and centre at last Wednesday's (September 14) Council meeting in Napanee.

In a presentation to L&A Council, L&A Emergency Services Co-ordinator Mark Schjerning pointed out that more than half of the calls that were answered by the Denbigh ambulance emanated from outside of Lennox and Addington, and while L&A recoups money for those calls through a cross-border agreement, that money is minimal as compared to the cost of keeping the base up and running.

L&A receives about $400 for every cross-border call it makes out of Denbigh, and their cost per call is about $3,500.

Shjerning also pointed out that the paramedics stationed at Denbigh spend a lot of time waiting for calls that do not come.

“In 2010, all told, about 1/3 of the shifts at Denbigh were what we call empty envelope shifts; in other words, over a 12-hour shift there were no calls to the station,” he said. “When this is expressed on a cost-per call basis, each call becomes very expensive.”

The preferred alternative that Schjerning presented, according to the report that was prepared by the IBI group out of Toronto, is the consolidation of northern services in the Northbrook/Cloyne area and the establishment of a new base in Loyalist Township. Currently, most of the calls from Loyalist Township are answered by the ambulance operated by Frontenac County, which is housed in a base on Justus Drive in the western part of Kingston.

“We cannot guarantee that the ambulance will be waiting at the base on Justus Drive to come to Loyalist,” said Shjerning, “it can be moved to downtown Kingston on standby.”

The impact of a new Loyalist Township-based service would be to cut response times from an average of about 20 to about 10 minutes per call for the 1,000 or so calls each year in that region.

On the other hand, closing Denbigh would result in over 80% of the calls in that region taking between 30 and 60 minutes for a response,” according to the IBI report.

County Warden Henry Hogg, who is also the Reeve of Addington Highlands, took a look at some of the mapping provided by Shjerning, and said that many response times will be even longer than the 30-60 minute window envisioned by IBI. He asked Shjerning what speeds were used to project the response times.

“We based those estimates on an average speed of 100 km/hour,” said Schjerning.

“Having driven the roads around Denbigh for the past 35 years, I challenge anyone to average 100 kilometres an hour, so your response times are not accurate,” Hogg said.

A middle ground proposal was also brought forward by Mark Shjerning. It involves keeping a limited 12 hour a day service open in Denbigh at an ambulance post, which is less expensive to build than a full-sized ambulance base. However, while simply closing Denbigh and opening a base in Loyalist Township would not increase the global cost of the system, keeping a limited service in Denbigh would mean an increase in costs, and ultimately, an increased tax burden on L&A ratepayers,

“As I understand it,” said L&A Council member, and Loyalist Township Deputy Mayor, Ric Bresee, “in an environment where we have fixed resources, this change will provide a 10 minute improvement in response time for a thousand calls and will slow response time by 30 minutes for a smaller number of calls, maybe 50 to 100. To me that is the nature of the decision we are called to make now. With the addition of funds we could start to change that spectrum but just on the flat line of the resources we have to use now, that is the call we have to make. I don't want to make that call.”

Addington Highlands Deputy Reeve Bill Cox wondered how this entire scenario had come about. “All we needed to do was find a location to build a Northbrook base. Whose idea was it to do a new study? We just did one three years ago, and nothing has changed. Why is this happening now?” he asked.

“Because we are now facing building a new base for Northbrook, it means we will be in a fixed location for a long time, so we thought it only prudent to look down the road before making that sort of commitment,” said County Chief Administrator Larry Keech.

Keech then said that council need not rush into a decision on the Denbigh/Loyalist Township issue.

“This is a very weighty issue both for Loyalist and Denbigh. It should not be made in haste and council should feel all of their questions are answered. We look to council for the next step,” he said, “but we don’t want it to be necessarily forgotten either.”

Council asked for more detail about response times in Loyalist Township, and will look further at the matter next month.

There is no fixed time frame for a final decision.

Culvert Replacement - Erroll Ruth of Mallory Lake made a return visit to council to ask for the township’s help with roadwork and in replacing some culverts on Addington Road 5, which he said were in such bad shape that they could collapse and cause a bad accident. Mr. Ruth brought several photos with him. He had visited council last year with the same request, and was told that the township does not provide maintenance on un-maintained roads, but is working on developing a policy. Since a new council is in place, Mr. Ruth returned on Monday night to present his request again. Council voted to receive the request.

Medical Clinic - Councilor Tony Fritsch presented to council the Terms of Reference that he has developed for a new facilities committee for the Lakelands Family Health Team (LFHT) in Denbigh and Northbrook. Council voted to establish the committee.

A tentative date of October 29 was set for the official opening of the new Denbigh LFHT facility.

Community Centre - Fritsch also presented two plans for a parking lot at the new Addington Highlands Community Centre – Denbigh. It was decided that the first plan, which puts the lot on the north side of the building, would be too expensive and difficult, as the Ministry of Transportation has requested a traffic impact study and stormwater management report. The estimated cost is $20,000 to $40,000.

The second plan, which places the lot on the east side, does have the drawback of going over the tile bed and would require its relocation, but does not have any MTO issues and has easy and safe access off Central Street. Council voted for the second option, which has an estimated cost of just over $10,000.

Ambulance Service - Council discussed the wording of a resolution to be submitted to Lennox & Addington County Council on the Denbigh Ambulance Service. Council Fritsch wanted the wording that the township would “accept no less than a 24/7 ambulance base in Denbigh and a 24/7 ambulance base in Northbrook”. Councilor Bill Cox sits on county council and was concerned about the wording being too confrontational, and Councilor Yanch noted that it was pointless to say the township “would accept no less” when in fact they would have to accept whatever county council decides.

The wording was changed to “..that the 24/7 Denbigh base and the 24/7 Cloyne/Northbrook base need to remain in place” and in a recorded vote, was accepted unanimously.

Firehall - Council approved the new municipal building/firehall project in Northbrook and decided to issue the request for proposals. The request for RFPs will go out now and the decision will be announced at the December 5 council meeting.

Applefest - The Through the Roof Ministry Centre (TTRMC) in Flinton is planning Applefest, a free community event, for October 15, and asked council for permission to use the Flinton hall’s parking lot for overflow parking, and also to cordon off Edward Street between Harrison Street and Flinton Road.

A wedding is planned for the Flinton hall for the same day, so the parking lot will not be available; however, certain areas that are used during the Flinton Jamboree would be suitable for the Applefest overflow parking. Also, council will notify TTRMC that they must use approved barricades, which must be manned by leaders with traffic control certification.

“Our Roads need to be safe for all”

Bedford Road resident Kathy DePlanche brought Council a 125-name petition asking for a sidewalk on Bedford Road from Sydenham village to the corner of Alton Road. In response, Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth said he hoped, in the upcoming budget deliberations, to bring forward a three-year plan to upgrade more township roads, not only for better surfaces and drainage, but also to make them safer routes for everyone, including bicycles and pedestrians. He specifically mentioned not only the strip of Bedford out of the village, but also Rutledge Road between the high school and the mini-mall, an area heavily traversed by both cars and students.

Annual Cataraqui Trail donation

In 2007, Council approved a yearly donation of $5,000 for three years to the Cataraqui Trail Association to enhance trails and offset capital expenses. They agreed to re-instate this annual donation for the duration of 2011-2015, after Councillor Alan McPhail reminded them that the trail association does not get funding from the Conservation Authority, and Councillor Del Stowe pointed out that not only does the money came out of the township’s parks fund, it is also partly offset by work in kind done on the trail by the township’s public works crews.

Increased Recycling Collection Costs

Public Works Mark Segsworth reported that since initiation of “all plastics” recycling in May, the volume of recycling has increased, so that contractors have had to make extra trips to KARC (Kingston Area Recycling Corporation). He said that he is working with staff at KARC to develop an objective formula to accurately measure this impact, and asked that council consider paying contractors a 5% increase retroactive to June, 2011 as a measure of good faith.

Segsworth expects to have a formula to address the collection of additional materials in place by December. He pointed out that the original contract with the collectors had made no allowance for this sort of increase.

“Doesn’t this mean there’s correspondingly less garbage to be collected?” asked Councillor Ron Vandewal, “We’ve already made fuel allowances.”

“If gas goes up tomorrow, will we have to pay the parks maintenance staff more?” asked Del Stowe.

Only Councillor Robinson commented that the additional loads were not covered in the contract between the township and the collectors.

Council agreed to defer any extra payments until they have more information.

(for a complete list of recyclables, go to southfrontenac.on.ca/garbage and look for Recycling Guidelines)

Amendments to Procedural By-law

On the recommendation of the Corporate Services Committee, Council has accepted some changes to their meeting procedures. Most were minor ‘housekeeping’ issues: a couple may be of interest to the public: any ‘in camera’ sessions will be held before the 7 pm public meeting, and all delegations will come before the Committee of the Whole, only. As well, delegations will be required to provide a written summary of their presentation on the Thursday prior to the meeting.

By Jeff Green and Julie Druker

Friends of Arden approach FCFDC, with support from township

A couple of weeks ago the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation (FCFDC) put out a call for community groups seeking to “improve the vitality of their village.”

It was as if the FCFDC was describing the Friends of Arden.

“If you are an association, group of engaged citizens or a municipality interested in improving the vibrancy of your community the Frontenac CFDC would like to hear from you,” they wrote.

In their letter to the FCFDC asking that Arden be chosen for the FCFDC initiative, the Friends of Arden described the series of meetings and initiatives they have conducted over the last year or so.

Central Frontenac Council has thrown their support behind the Friends of Arden. At their meeting this week, Council directed staff to send a supporting letter to the FCFDC, urging them to choose the village of Arden.

“I think the amount of activity that has already been undertaken in Arden, by the Rec. Committee, the Legion, two active lake associations, and the Friends of Arden, make this an excellent opportunity for Arden and for the FCFDC. I whole-heartedly support sending a letter of support for this,” said Mayor Janet Gutowski.

In their own letter to the FCFDC, the Friends of Arden describe their ultimate goal as that of turning Arden into a tourism hub in Frontenac County.

Garrison Shores condominium agreement finalized

Central Frontenac Township has signed off on a land condominium agreement for the ill-fated Garrison Shores housing development.

This means that after almost 30 years of legal limbo, the property owners on Garrison Lake will be able to get deeds to their property, which will give them, for the first time, the opportunity to sell if they wish to.

The process was held up for years because the lots were undersized, among other factors, and there were disagreements between some of the Garrison Shores property owners. One bone of contention was the fact that under the condominium agreement, much of the shoreline has been allocated to specific landowners, when it had previously been held in common.

The condominium agreement has been through numerous processes involving Frontenac County, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and the Ontario Municipal Board.

When it came to Central Frontenac Council this week, Councilor John Purdon said, “There are a number of minor errors in the text which need to be fixed before this is registered, but I agree we should finally move ahead with this.”

“Hallelujah,” said Mayor Janet Gutowski, “it's about time this was settled. I can't imagine the stress this has caused over the years in households where investments had been made and there were no legal deeds and people’s money was left in limbo.”

1000 Islands Concrete – Another long-standing issue in the Arden area has been resolved. Councilor Jeff Matson reported that he has been in contact with Bob Castle, the owner of 1000 Islands Concrete in Brockville, about the depot they have been working on setting up at the former site of the Arden Station garage and restaurant.

“He told me that the settlement ponds have been dug on the site, the berms are built and cement is being poured for two ramps. They are hoping to have trucks in for spring, after half loads are out, and are talking about a building going up next summer to house trucks and materials,” said Matson

“We are fortunate they didn't walk away from this,” said Mayor Gutowski, referring to delays that added costs to the new business venture and kept it from starting up for four long years.

When 1000 Islands Concrete mixes their first batch of ready-mix concrete sometime next spring, it will have been five years since they first applied for a zoning bylaw amendment in March of 2007.

Construction on pace for a good year -

While August was not a banner month for building permits, 2011 is still in pace to be the strongest construction year in at least three years. Values to date this year are $5.76 million, up from $5.37 million last year, but last year’s total included a $665,000 public housing project. In 2009, during the heart of the recession, the January to August total was only $3.28 million. Permit fees are also up, at $72,000, up from $63,000 in 2010 and $40,000 in 2009. To date 10 new residential units have received permits this year, down from 12 in 2010 but up from 6 in 2009.

Public works issues

Beaver baffle attempt to get underway -

(Don't talk about this to any of the local beavers you know, especially the beavers living near the Long Lake Road)

Public Works Manager Mike Richardson said that after council gave leave for the department to look at building a beaver baffle somewhere in the township, a landowner on Opeongo Road, off of Long Lake Road, came forward to work with the township on his property.

“Some of the circumstances at that location are working in favour of the beaver so some patience will be required there, but we are going to give it a try,” said Richardson.

Arden bridge project delayed – A project to rehabilitate the Arden Bridge, which was budgeted at $60,000 this year, has turned into a larger project than the department expected.

“It will cost about $120,000 to do the project and it is not the kind of project than can be done in phases so I recommend we wait and do it next year,” said Richardson. “The Arden Road itself needs to be re-done, which is a major project, and we need to make sure this project fits with that rebuild.”

Jeff Matson and Tom Dewey, both councillors from the Arden area, asked that if the project is not done this year at least some clean up of the site be done.

Tendering for winter road maintenance -

Three-year contracts for winter maintenance on a number of gravel roads were up last year, and were extended for one year. Mike Richardson recommended putting those contacts up for tender for a two-year contract, during which time his department will look closely at some of the roads that may no longer have year-round residents living on them.

He also recommended putting the Road 38 winter maintenance contract out to tender for one year, because the contract for the South Frontenac portion of the road runs out next year and it might be possible to work together with South Frontenac to streamline the administration of contracts for the maintenance of the entire road, from the edge of the City of Kingston all the way to Highway 7.

Some members of Council wanted to simply extend the existing contracts for the gravel roads and Road 38 for one year, but a motion to that effect was defeated in a 5-3 vote. Councilor Matson declared a conflict of interest and excused himself during the vote.

The township will proceed with the tenders.

Clear bags muddy the waters

Council discussed what would become of bag tags now that the township is selling clear bags for garbage disposal.

“As of April 1, 2012, bag tags on garbage bags will no longer be acceptable at the dumps and only the clear bags that are sold by the township will be suitable for dumping. Clear bags are being sold now, and bag tags are no longer being sold. People have six months to use up their tags,” said Councilor Norm Guntensperger, who sits on the township's waste management committee. “That was approved by Council when we brought in the new waste management bylaw.

“We put this information out in the tax bills, it has been brought to the attention of lake associations, and it is on our website,” said Mayor Gutowski. “We will have to continue to let people know about this, but on April 1, bag tags will no longer be acceptable so people need to use them up before then.”

New Recreational baseball hits

In a delegation made to council Cory Thompson, Chair of the District 2 recreation Committee, was pleased to report that his plans to start a new recreational baseball league in Central Frontenac, which originally met with some opposition, proved to be a very successful in its first season. A total of 89 children, ages 4 and up, participated and Thompson reported that 67 of those children had never played baseball before. “The kids loved it and their parents did too and it really worked out very well.” The league received an outpouring of support and donations from the community including a donation of $3000 in used equipment, which was distributed to the participants. Cory reported that many of the children are now continuing to play the game at school and at home. Owen Tryon made logos for t-shirts that were given out to the players at the end of season party that took place in Arden. Players’ parents were generous and donated their time and Cory said their feedback was incredibly positive “We'll see where it goes next year but this year shows that there are lots of kids and their parents who are very enthusiastic about it.”

Mayor Gutowski thanked Cory for all of his work and said she is pleased to support non-competitive participation in this recreational league, which gives all kids a chance to play the game. “Encouraging kids to get outside, get active and have some fun with family and friends is definitely something that I support.”

Bear spotted at the Mountain Grove ball field

Before he left, Cory Thompson also mentioned that it had been reported to him that a large bear was spotted at the Mountain Grove ball field. Reportedly, the bear seemed overly interested in the ball game being played. Anyone playing in the park should take appropriate caution.

Motion passed supporting OFIT

Council passed a motion supporting a letter sent to council by Glen Morrow, President of the Carleton Automotive Towing and Recovery on behalf of the Ontario Federation of Independent Towers. The letter said that a Request for Proposal by the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional services would effectively “transfer the authority of vehicle impoundments from the Ministry of Transportation to the OPP.”

It stated that the RFP would “have a negative effect on the overall capacity of your local towing industry to serve the community” and further, that the RFP had been “tendered without consultation with you, our municipal representatives and without us, your local tow service providers.”

Councilor Frances Smith agreed with the independent towers, and said “I'm not sure if this is a big issue for us but we need to use common sense here and support our local towing companies.”

Storage shed in dire need of repairs.

Maybe it's something about the weather in North Frontenac. Once again the township is facing the cost of repairing a salt/sand storage dome, this time the one serving the former township of Clarendon/Miller, which is in need of major repairs.

A couple of years ago the township spent some money shoring up the shed serving the Ompah area, a shed that started showing signs of wear soon after being built. Council set aside $12,000 this year to repair the Clar-Mill shed, but when their engineering consultant took a look at it they said the repairs could not be done for that price.

With winter coming on, township CAO Cheryl Robson asked council to approve going over the $12,000 limit for the repair.

“I think we should put an upper limit on how much can be spent without coming back to us, say $50,000,” said Councilor John Inglis.

“They said it would be more than $12,000, but I don't think they meant that much more,” said Robson.

Council approved the spending, with a $50,000 limit.

Ompah ambulance base still in limbo

At the most recent meeting of Frontenac County Council, a proposal from North Frontenac that would have initiated the ambulance base/fire hall in Ompah was deferred in order for staff from the county and the township to communicate and come up with concrete figures about costs and specifications for the new building so that county council can finally decide whether to go ahead with the project or abandon it altogether.

However, Cheryl Robson said she only returned to work from her summer vacation on the morning of the council meeting.

“I put in a call to Liz this morning, and hopefully we can set something up for later this week,” Robson said.

At their latest meeting, County Warden Gary Davison said he wanted some assurances that North Frontenac will be building their portion of the building to an acceptable standard. The other issue that has been holding up the project is the way construction and maintenance costs for the building are to be split among the county and the township.

Disaster Relief – Council committed $100 to the town of Goderich to help with disaster relief after a tornado decimated the town in August.

Apology and talk of amalgamation – Councilor Wayne Good said that he has apologized informally to Addington Highlands Reeve Henry Hogg for North Frontenac unilaterally cancelling a joint fire board committee meeting last month. Good particularly felt an apology was needed because Henry Hogg chairs the committee. Addington Highlands proposed October 27 as an alternative date, which North Frontenac has accepted.

The joint fire board oversees the Barrie/Kaladar fire service, and Mayor Bud Clayton said it is time the old names are replaced by the names of the amalgamated townships.

“There no longer is a Barrie or a Kaladar township. We should be talking about a North Frontenac/Addington Highlands Fire Service. It's the same with our Clar-Mill or Snow Road service. We've had a lot of conversations about amalgamation not working; part of it is that we continue talking about the old names, not North Frontenac. There is a lot more than that, but that's one of those items.”

“What about the cost of changing names? It would mean all new signs,” said Wayne Good.

“We'll have to look at that as part of next year's budget,” said Clayton.

Speaking of signs – A couple of months ago the township heard from Edith Beaulieu, who said that she has been waiting for a road sign for almost 20 years. The sign has subsequently been ordered, but when Mayor Clayton asked Edith, who was in attendance at the meeting, if the sign had come, she said, “Not yet. I guess it will be another 9 or 12 or 18 years.”

Review of Minimum Standards for Private Lanes

Fire Chief Rick Chesborough has requested a review of the present lane standard policy that would bring all private lanes with new development up to standards that would allow safe passage for emergency vehicles. His recommendation would be a roadway fifteen feet wide cleared to a height of fifteen feet, which would have a base support of 35,000 lb. He noted that legally, the rescue vehicle driver has the right to refuse to take a truck over a road that does not meet fire department standards. If this should happen, the municipality would not be liable for any resultant losses. This would no apply to presently existing lanes, although if they do not meet criteria, they may have reduced services. In referring this back to the Public Works Committee, the Public Works Manager and the Fire Chief for further recommendation, Mayor Davison said that the argument that “A cement truck got in with no problem” does not prove the road is suitable for an emergency vehicle.

Outdoor Furnaces

In 2007, Council considered, but did not pass a zoning by-law amendment that would restrict outdoor furnaces to be permitted only in areas zoned rural or agricultural. Vandewal, who owns an outdoor furnace himself, had asked that this issue be brought forward for further consideration, as more of the furnaces were being brought into residential areas, where their smoke could become a problem to nearby residents. Robinson said that several furnaces in Harrowsmith had had ten-foot chimneys added, which seemed to lessen complaints about the smoke. vandewal said that while the older models were smoky, the new furnaces now have a blower on the door, so that they burn hotter. He also said that there should be a seasonal restriction, perhaps May to October, during which the furnaces would not be burned. The issue was referred to the development services committee for research into ways other townships are dealing with such burners, and for recommendations.

Format for Minutes of Council Meetings

CAo Orr brought forward a recommendation that Council consider complying with a strict interpretation of the Municipal Act, which states: “A municipality...shall record without note or comment all resolutions, decisions and other proceedings at a meeting...” He gave Council two versions of last month’s minutes, one which summarized councillors’ comments, and a considerably shorter version which followed the Act. (Public meetings are excepted, as they must record the comments from citizens.) Vandewal said sometimes it was useful to be able to review the discussion that led to a particular decision. Orr agreed, but pointed out that if a person felt passionate about an issue, they could request a recorded vote. Consensus was in favour of going forward with the new format.

Streamlining Meetings

Council agreed to begin all council meetings with the in-camera session at 6:00 pm, in another room,so the public would have access to the council chambers before 7:00 pm, at which time the regular public part of the meeting would begin, as usual. All delegations will be heard at the Committee of the Whole, and must be preceded by a written summary. Council was less in agreement about having one or two meetings a month in July and August, but Orr reminded them this could be decided in June, at which time they could make a resolution to dispense with two of the summer meetings. “I’d like to point out that I’ve been here for almost eleven years, and I’ve never missed a meeting,” announced Councillor Robinson.