South Frontenac Council granted Desert Lake Resort an exemption from its noise bylaw that will allow the resort to hold four concerts this summer at Council’s regular meeting this week in Sydenham.

In a recorded vote, Coun. Alan Revill and Ross Sutherland voted against the proposal.

The resort had been seeking permission to hold six concerts but many residents on the lake opposed the idea. However, after considerable discussions, most felt two concerts would be acceptable.

The final decision is not without restrictions. Concerts (which the resolution refers to as “amplified musical events”) can only be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and the Township must be notified three weeks in advance of the date. Furthermore, of the four events, two can be held on holiday long weekends (Victoria Day and Canada Day most likely) and the other two are to be held on non-holiday weekends.

As this year is being thought of as a trial basis, Council asked that bylaw enforcement representatives be on the lake to observe and report back on noise levels.

“I think this is a reasonable compromise,” said Mayor Ron Vandewal. “I’m sure there are people in Havelock who don’t like the jamboree but we have to acknowledge that it’s an economy boost for that municipality and I certainly don’t have a problem with concerts on Canada Day because most people are celebrating then anyway.

“And to my knowledge, there’s never been a problem with the resort in the past. I don’t know of any time that bylaw enforcement has been called.”

Coun. Ross Sutherland said that he has heard of incidents when the OPP has been called and argued that one of the attractions of South Frontenac is peace and quiet.

“I would like to remind Council that we limit the number of days people can set off fireworks and we give very few exemptions to our noise bylaw,” Sutherland said. “The times we do grant exceptions are for special circumstances like the Canadian Guitar Festival or large weddings.”

Coun. Mark Schjerning said he wasn’t comfortable with the idea of bylaw officers being present on the lake for the event.

“Our policy has always been complaint driven,” he said.

“I know it sounds funny to have bylaw enforcement there,” said Vandewal. “But you know people are likely to complain anyway and it would be good to have an independent assessment of the noise levels around the lake.”

Road allowance closing
Council cleared up a somewhat long-standing issue by closing a road allowance off Atkins Lane in Storrington District.

Planner Lindsay Mills said that they had to re-advertise the proposal because an adjacent property owner, Lori Greenwood, hadn’t been properly notified. Greenwood’s access to her property is through the affected land.

However, Greenwood said at the meeting she wanted the measure to pass so that the owners could get on with their lives.

She did have one concern though.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this a year ago?” she said. “You seem to have no problem finding me with tax bills.”

Community grants
Council allocated $13,477 in grants to 11 community groups for various projects. The grantees include: Sydenham Lion’s Club - $1,842 for benches at The Point; Verona Community Association, $1,970 for a Flagpole with Canadian flag at the Verona Trailhead site; Frontenac Society of Model Engineers, $1,000 for safety repairs to locomotive for miniature railway; Frontenac Fury, $1,000 for girls hockey development; Sydenham Lake Canoe Club, $425 for waterproof two way radios; Verona Lion’s, $2,000 for a garbage container at Verona Trailhead site; Southern Frontenac Community Services, $2,000 for youth volunteer co-ordination; Frontenac ball hockey, $1,000 for the program; Sydenham Lakes and Trails Festival, $740 for flyers and a banner; and 4-H Sine Club, $1,500 to increase registration and promote swine farming.

$15,000 was allocated to the grant program in the 2017 budget, and requests were submitted for $16,477. All of the groups that applied received funding, but three of the groups, Frontenac Society of Model Engineers, Frontenac Fury, and Frontenac ball hockey, applied for $2,000 and received $1,000.

Building starts in normal range
Building permits for $2.077 million in construction were sold in the 1st quarter of 2017, down slightly  from $2.16 million in 2016. The total for all of 2016 was $29.3 million, up from $26.9 million in 2015. Permits for 4 new houses were issued in the first quarter of this year, which is normal for the time of year. The total number of new houses was 70 last year, a jump of 15 from the year before. The busiest quarter for new home permits last year was the 2nd quarter, when 30 were issued.

In January, South Frontenac Council invited Harrowsmith resident Brad Barbeau to fill the vacancy on Council created by Councillor Bill Robinson’s death late last year. Barbeau had been a candidate in Portland district in the last municipal election, and was a close runner-up.

“There’s a lot of ‘catchup’ to do,” said Barbeau, in reference to having been dropped into Council halfway through its term; “and I’ve been told I’m a perfectionist.” He added that his fellow councillors have been helpful, both in bringing him up to speed on current issues, and occasionally adjusting what would usually be daytime committee meetings to accommodate his work schedule. In his mid-thirties, Barbeau is the youngest member of Council, and only he and Schjerning have full-time jobs and young families.

Barbeau grew up in Madoc, moving to South Frontenac just before entering his final year of high school in Sydenham. He went on to Queen’s, and now works there as senior management in the technology section of the School of Business. He left his “spare time” position as organist and interim choral director at St George’s when his first son was born, and is currently organist at St Paul’s in Sydenham, and teaches two computer courses at St Lawrence.

Barbeau’s interest in local politics has been with him for much of his life: he married his high school sweetheart, whose father was Reeve, and remembers growing up listening to community issues being discussed at the dinner table. He’s particularly committed to the importance of farming and preservation of farmland, and feels this does not preclude well-planned residential development. He spoke of the ‘interesting mix’ of South Frontenac residents with people who have been born and grown up here living beside recently-arrived “city folk”, and the challenges this presents in fostering a sense of community. He’s intrigued with the concept of a Heritage Committee, which might be a way of helping owners of older homes to access funds for upkeep and maintenance.

And he wonders if anyone out there even knows he’s on Council, for almost no one has contacted him yet about local concerns or issues: he can be reached at: 613-376-6644, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

After a joint North Frontenac-Addington Highlands Council meeting last Friday at Barrie Hall in Cloyne, it appears that concerns about equipment reserves for the joint Kaladar Barrie Fire Department (KBFD) have been laid to rest.

The meeting was called at the request of North Frontenac (and Mayor Ron Higgins in particular) to address funding for the replacement of the Rescue 5 vehicle at an estimated cost of up to $315,000.

Both Councils agreed to approve budget submissions of $281,119 being added to the Vehicle/Equipment Reserve in 2017.

The Councils also approved an allocation of $110,000 ($55,000 per Township) for the next nine years (2018 to 2026), with the amount required to be reviewed on an annual basis when the KBFD Asset Management Plan Tangible Capital Asset Replacement Schedules are reviewed as part of the annual budget process.

The budget in general was also approved as presented in draft #2 permitting the KBFD to have all the equipment, personnel and training required to provide the core services as set by Councils in the establishing and regulating bylaw.

The Kaladar Barrie department is an anomaly in Ontario because it is managed by two different townships  in two different counties, but since the department pre-dates the municipal amalgamation process in 1998 and serves a single community on either side of Hwy. 41 it has persisted through successive councils for almost 20 years. Occasionally differences in the way North Frontenac and Addington Highlands run their townships has caused friction from time to time, however.

“North Frontenac has had concerns that the Joint Fire Committee (JFC) hasn’t put enough money away, but we’ve put in $281,000 to buy a rescue vehicle,” said Addington Highlands Reeve Henry Hogg.

“It’s something we have to do,” he said. “It means a tax increase but it has to be done.

“It’s as good as we can get. It’s always that way.”

“I think it went fairly smoothly,” said Addington Highlands Fire Chief Casey Cuddy of the meeting.

“Both Councils were brought up to speed.” Cuddy lives in North Frontenac but serves as Fire Chief for Addington Highlands and for the KBFD.

Higgins agreed.

“I feel good about how it’s gone,” Higgins said. “It’s comforting to me that Councils addressed errors in asset management.

“I just wanted assurance that Councils agreed.”

Councils also agreed to have the JFC review the agreements as required and to revisit the Tangible Assets Replacement Schedule in 2017 with respect to the options available.

Annual Waste Site Review
Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth introduced Stephanie Reader of the engineering firm Cambium, who submitted the annual review of the Township’s waste disposal sites, both active and closed.

The five active sites (Portland, Loughborough, Bradshaw, Salem and Green Bay) are all operating well, although Portland, formerly struggling to comply with Ministry of Environment requirements, was the only one that did not have some recommendations for improvement. Five more former landfill sites are still being monitored, and all are considered in good condition.

At the current rate of fill, not counting Storrington’s waste which is trucked out of the Township, the combined site life of South Frontenac’s landfills is nineteen years, unchanged from last year

Assumption of Portion of Keir Road
Forbes Symon brought a recommendation that the Township assume a 76 metre length of Keir Road (close to the Applewood development) once the prospective owner constructs it to Township standards.

Councillor Sutherland objected, on the grounds that the Township still had no written policy to address requests to assume unmaintained roads. Segsworth, confirmed that there was an “unwritten agreement” that once a property had upgraded a road allowance to Township standards, the owner should bring the question of ongoing maintenance to Council. All other Council members agreed that this request should come to a Council meeting for approval.

2017 Assessment Update
Bev Disney, Account Manager for the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), an independent not-for-profit corporation funded by Ontario’s municipalities, reported to Council on her agency’s role in assessing the values of all properties in Ontario. Municipal governments then use these assessments to determine property taxes. Ontario  properties are reevaluated every four years: the most recent evaluation, done in 2016, will be used for the tax years 2017-2020.

Disney noted that any given property’s value is determined by comparing prices paid for comparable properties in the same district. Residential properties get their property assessment notices from MPAC between April and August; farm and business notices go out in October. These notices should be carefully reviewed for accuracy. They also have contact information for further help in interpreting the notice, and, if necessary, for filing a request for reconsideration.

The website aboutmyproperty.ca provides even more information about your local property values and market trends, gives details on how your property was assessed, and an interactive map allows you to view up to 100 other area properties considered to be of similar value.

Nice Try, but No Cigar…
Treasurer Fragnito’s yearly report on the financial status of the township showed that South Frontenac theoretically could borrow almost $60 million at the rate of 5% for 20 years.

Councillor Sleeth said, “Since our frugal mayor is away (in Alberta tonight), I’d like to propose we construct an Olympic swimming pool in South Frontenac.” After a few seconds of hopeful or horrified silence around the table, acting Deputy Mayor Roberts quickly said that he was just as frugal as the mayor, possibly more so, and the moment passed.

By Kip Vankempen’s own admission, it’s just one man’s survey but the results did spark response from Mayor Ron Higgins at North Frontenac’s regular Council meeting last Friday at Barrie Hall in Cloyne. (The meeting was held in Cloyne because it immediately followed a joint Councils meeting with Addington Highlands on the joint fire agreement.)

Appearing as a delegation to Council, Vankempen said he used the internet application SurveyMonkey and received 83 responses.

Of the 83 respondents:

• 92 per cent opposing the new municipal building expenditure
• 96 per cent felt the federal gas tax could be put to better use than the building project
• 97 per cent believe the Cloyne firehall is important
• 97 per cent believe firefighting and rescue equipment should be maintained up to recommended standards
• 78 per cent believe the Cloyne playground equipment should be replaced
• 99 per cent believe internet voting should be available
• 99 per cent would like Council to keep them informed by email
• 97 per cent believe cottagers should receive the same relief as year-round residents for Hydro
• 93 per cent felt the delivery charge for Hydro should be changed.

While Higgins agreed with the respondents as to Hydro charges and pointed out the Township has sent letters to the Province asking for the repeal of the Green Energy Act, he wasn’t as agreeable when it came to the municipal building expenditures.

“It is going ahead as is,” Higgins said. “You can’t look at it in isolation because the building itself has no negative impact on taxes, which we’ve kept to the Consumer Price Index.”

Higgins said they view the municipal building expenses as “spending on an asset and improving service delivery” and that it has health, safety and accessibility issues.

He also said that they have approved a new communications policy.

Restoration Project on Hold
Improvements to the Palmerston Canonto Conservation Area by the Palmerston Beach Restoration Project Team are on hold following a resolution by Council.

Council did pass a bylaw authorizing the Mayor and Clerk to enter into a five-year lease agreement (for $1 per year) with the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) on the property but execution of lease may also have to wait.
The problem is, actual ownership of the property seems to be in question.

In a report to Council, manager of community development Corey Klatt said “At the Feb. 16 meeting, we were advised by MVCA staff that there is currently an issue with the ownership of a portion of the property within the PCCA beach area.”
Klatt said an adjacent property owner believes he owns some of the property.

Coun. Gerry Martin, who has been working with the PBRP team wrote a letter advising them that “the renewal of the MVCA Lease Agreement will be on the April 7 Council Agenda.

“The title search has not yet been completed (by MVCA) and until ownership of the property is determined, Council cannot approve work on the lot. There is a possibility the property is actually owned by a third party.”

“This is turning out to be a disaster,” said Coun. John Inglis. “They’re not going to be able to do (work) this year.”

“We’re dealing with something that was done wrong 30 years ago,” said Martin.

Line Painting
Council approved Public Works Manager Segsworth recommendation that the pavement marking tender be granted to Trillium Pavement Marking, in the amount of $137,523. This falls within the amount budgeted, and came as a result of a joint tendering process involving all four Frontenac Townships. In response to a question about the need for painting this year, Segsworth said that many of the main roads had lost a lot of paint during the winter.

Wild Parsnip (and Council?)
Control Segsworth presented the bids for roadside mowing: local mowing would be a 6 ft wide pass each side of the road with a provisional second cut, and arterial mowing would be 12 feet wide, with provision for second and third cuts. The tender has been awarded to Percy Snider, lowest bidder. Segsworth says he is also looking into tendering with the other townships for proactive spraying.

There was brief discussion of the merits and disadvantages of both practices, which deteriorated when Councillor Sutherland attempted to speak further about line painting. After a few moments of choral talking by Sutherland and Mayor Vandewal, Sutherland was declared out of order.

Parkland Fee Process Clarified
The Township requires either parkland or cash-in-lieu as a condition of a consent plan or plan of subdivision or condominium: 2% of the appraised value of the land in the case of commercial lots, and 5% for residential. Council had asked Planner Lindsay Mills to draft a policy to clarify the process for determining baseline property value. Mills presented, and Council passed a by-law (2017-16) stating that valuations will be done by a qualified and certified professional appraiser chosen by the Township. (The developer may also wish to contribute a valuation done by the appraiser of their choice.) All required valuations will be done at the owner’s expense.

Storrington Rezoning Subject to Site Plan
Council approved rezoning the Campbell property (part lot 19, Concession II) from Urban Commercial to Special Urban Commercial, in order to permit four accessory residential units. However, the rezoned area will be marked (H) as a holding zone, until all requirements of a site plan agreement have been agreed upon and registered upon the title of the property. This will specify details such as: locations of all buildings and structures, wells, septic systems, parking, traffic access, and incorporating all conditions required by KFL&A Public Health, prior to the holding symbol being removed by by-law.

Internet and Telephone Voting
Council authorized voting for the 2018 election to be via telephone or internet.

Something you don’t see at a municipal council meeting very often is a resident making a delegation and going to bat for a neighbour.

But at Addington Highlands regular Council meeting this week in Flinton, Amos Shiner did just that.

Shiner took exception to the way Larry Knox has been treated with respect to the enforcement of the yard clean-up bylaw.

Knox has been instructed to clean up his Hwy. 41 property. Shiner said a bylaw enforcement officer visited Knox March 1 and gave him until April 17 to comply.

“Larry has been in the hospital for lung surgery and I’m here asking for an extension,” Shiner said.

Shiner said allegations that nothing had been done were untrue as Knox had “taken a pickup load to the dump.”

Shiner also said there were extenuating circumstances in that some of the metal to be removed was still frozen in the ground.

“I’ve talked to many people who are not happy with the way this was done,” Shiner said.

Shiner said the incident has raised other concerns for him and he plans to do something about them.

“Our bylaw does not comply with the Charter of Rights (and Freedoms),” he said. “One person (the bylaw enforcement officer) has the authority to enter anyone’s property and act as judge without appeal.

“We feel bullied by this bylaw so we’re taking petitions (and) you’re going to see a lot of me until this bylaw is changed.”

Shiner also said he has issues with other municipal statutes including the Official Plan.

Council thanked Shiner for his presentation.

Last Thursday (March 23) Richard Allen from Frontenac County’s Economic Development Department, and Carey Bidtnes from the Kingston Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO) hosted three sessions on the prospects for the goat dairy industry in Eastern Ontario. They were joined by goat experts from the Ontario Ministry of Food and Agriculture, including small ruminant specialist Jillian Craig, and raw milk specialist Philip Wilman.

Richard Allen hosted the sessions, and Carey Bidtnes kicked things off by setting out the context for an unprecedented potential growth of the small but growing goat dairy industry in Ontario. Bidtnes is the point person at KEDCO who is working with officials from the huge Chinese agricultural corporation Feihe. Feihe will commence construction on a $250 million plant in Kingston this summer. The plant will produce high end baby formula using surplus skim milk from Ontario dairy farms, and will directly employ over 200 people, many more during the construction phase. In China, Feihe’s premium brand sells for $75 (Canadian) for a 750 ml can, a one week’s supply.

As Bidtnes explained, the plant will be built with two production lines, a cow milk line that will begin production as soon as the plant is built, and a goat milk line that will begin production in 5-7 years or when there is enough goat milk available to run the line.

The problem for Feihe, and Bidtnes by extension, is that the goat dairy industry in Ontario  produces 46 million litres a year, and represents the bulk of national production, which is 55 million litres. Feihe is looking for 75 million litres a year.  By comparison, 8,100 million litres of cows milk are produced each year in Canada (accordnig to Stats Can figures from 2015).

There are about 250 goat dairy farms in Ontario, the smallest with as few as 250 milking goats, and there are some with as many as 1,500 goats.

Feihe operates on an entirely different scale. In China they run a vertically integrated company. They grow their own grain, raise and milk animals and turn their own milk into formula. When Bidtnes and Allen visited China in January, they toured a massive indoor Feihe facility which has 10,000 milking cows. In China, Feihe is about to construct 7 goat dairy farms that will each house and milk 70,000 does in a single indoor facility.

“Feihe runs all their own farms in China ever since the Melamine scandal of 2008. They need to feel confident of the quality and cleanliness of their supply. But in Canada, where the dairy industry is second to none, they want to work with independent farmers,” Bidtnes said.

Jillian Craig and Philip Wilman did not talk much about the potential for large dairy goat farms. They presented information based on the current state of the goat dairy industry in Ontario.

“There are two goat milk brokers in Ontario, and I would not recommend anyone invest in dairy goats without first securing a contract with one of them,” Welman said.

As he explained, purchasing good quality dairy goats and building new or retrofitting a barn for goats are expensive propositions. Good quality does cost about $1,000 each but goats breed well, producing 2-3 offspring each year. The market for goat meat as well as goat milk is good in Ontario so male goats can either be sold to a feed lot or raised for later sale.

He also said that the average price for goat milk is about $1.09 per litre.

“While there are some who say goats can produce 3 litres a day, I think 2.5 litres is as good as anyone can expect on average. Does produce from 600 to 1,000 litres per year, and if Welman is to be believed, the number is closer to 600.

He also said that the cost to produce a litre of milk, with all costs included, has been estimated by government officials at $1.30.

A member of the audience asked if he was hearing correctly. “If it costs $1.30 and sells for $1.09, what is the point of it all.” he said.

Welman said that the $1.30 figure is misleading.

“It assumes that farmers don’t do any of their own labour and includes mortgage costs on buildings and other costs. The top five farms that I know produce milk for about 87 cents a litre,” he said.

Jillian Craig said there are two feeding systems that farmers use. Farmers can purchase feed pellets that have all the necessary nutrients in them, or a total mixed ration system using corn and hay that they grow or purchase, along with other nutrients. Most Ontario goat dairies are parts of larger farm operations that grow much of their own feed.

Craig and Welman indicated that proper research and a lot of preparation is necessary before taking the plunge into the goat dairy industry. They did not speak at all about the logistics involved in very large scale goat operations.

To supply Feihe’s plant, the milk from 100,000 to 115,000 dairy goats will be necessary, and breeding will have to be staggered among that herd to provide a constant supply. To put that in a North American perspective, there were approximately 360,000 dairy goats in the entire United States in 2016. A 9,600 goat farm is being constructed in Wisconsin, which will be the largest in the United States. The goat cheese industry takes all the milk US producers can supply and is looking for more.

Council cost taxpayers a total of $82,691.07 in 2016 including mileage, professional development and per diem.

Mayor Frances Smith was paid $13,462.10 including $1,058.32 in mileage. Dep. Mayor (for 2016) Bill MacDonald received $10,638.82 including $543.68 in per diem and $588.50 in mileage. Coun. Victor Heese received $10,720.94 including $332.99 for professional development and conferences, $630 for per diem and $1,144.12 for mileage. Coun. Tom Dewey received $9,725.37 including $923.21 for mileage and $119.21 for ‘other.’ Coun. Cindy Kelsey received $9,116.85 including $433.90 for professional development and conferences. Coun. Phillip Smith received $8,988.95 including $90 per diem and $216 for mileage. Coun. Sherry Whan, Brent Cameron and Jamie Riddell each received $8,682.95.

MacDonald suggested that compared with other Councils in the area, Central is on the lower end of the pay scale and Council instructed the treasurer to look at adding increases into this year’s budget, which will come to Council in two weeks.

Council canceled
As Oso Hall is scheduled for a coroner’s inquest during the week of April 25 and unavailable for the Council meeting, Council opted to cancel its meeting rather than move it to one of the other Township Halls.

Goat meat with hazelnuts
During County economic development officer Richard Allen’s presentation, Coun. Bill MacDonald noted that the possibility of a hazelnut industry in the future, quipping that “I’m encouraged to find you’re going to increase the number of nuts in Frontenac County.”

MacDonald also asked what become of male goats and female goats after their milking lives were done.

Allen replied that there is a growing goat meat market in Canada given immigration from countries where goat meat is a staple.

Dep. Mayor Brent Cameron had an alternative possibility.

“Old goats might have an opportunity in municipal politics,” Cameron said.

New hires
Council announced they will be extending offers of employment to Shawn Merriman as manager of development services/chief building official and Greg Robinson as manager of emergency services/fire chief.Clerk Cathy MacMunn said no further details could be released until contracts were signed, but both officials are expected to take office May 1.

Mayor Vandewal introduced Forbes Symon, former director of planning and development for North Grenville, as the Township’s new Manager of Development Services, with the comment; “We hope to see some measurable differences.”

No pressure here….

Desert Lake Noise By-law Exemption Request
A request from Sheena and Leo Pillay, owners of Desert Lake Resort, to have May 20 and all the Saturdays between July 1 and Sept 2 exempt from the Township Noise by-law between 8&11 pm resulted in two delegations and nine letters from unhappy cottage owners on the lake.

Having become aware of the local resistance, Pillay modified her request to Council, suggesting instead that she and her husband would prefer to meet with the cottage association to see what sort of compromise could be worked out. She emphasized that since buying the resort a few years ago, they had been trying to make it less of a party place, and more of a family-oriented business. However, she said they were faced with the dilemma that more and more campers expected campgrounds to provide a range of entertainment beyond hiking, boating and swimming.

Lake Association members Rick Saaltink and Kanji Nakatsu spoke of years of tolerating late-night loud music from the campground, and gave the impression that the prospect of every summer weekend being noisy had raised a lot of alarm among lake residents. However, they acknowledged the campground owners’ flexibility and willingness to try to arrive at a compromise that might be acceptable to both sides of the issue. Both said that the degree of incompatibility meant compromise might not come easily.

Council encouraged the two groups to get together and try to find a solution and report back by the mid- April Council meeting, so any agreed-upon by-law exemption dates could be voted on.

Minimum Distance Separation: New Guidelines
Planner Mills introduced the new guidelines for determining minimum distance separation (MDS) between barns and new development (intended to reduce land use conflicts between farming activities and local residents) should serve to clarify previous regulations. He noted that the new guidelines clarifies what is meant by “unoccupied livestock barn”; i.e., empty but structurally sound and capable of housing livestock, and describes how to apply MDS to existing vacant lots of record.  These guidelines, issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, came into effect on March 1st.

Required Septic System Pump-outs and inspections
In an unusual move, Councillor Sutherland asked that his notice of motion to support a resolution in favour of amendments to the Building Code as it relates to septic systems come to the Committee of the Whole for discussion and fine-tuning before it goes to Council next week for discussion and vote.

Councillor McDougall said he thought this motion would be premature: “We can’t pretend this would be a cheap process. It’s hugely challenging. We should wait and see what the province comes up with.” There seemed to be general consensus with this opinion around the table.

Climate Protection: Action, Not Words
CAO Orr reported that fifteen years ago, Council had passed a motion to form the South Frontenac Sustainability Working Group and to join the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) partnership for Climate Protection Program. Time passed, and only when the FCM recently contacted Orr for an update on our progress did anyone realize we, along with 16% of the provinces’ municipalities, were still formally members of this program. We have not: created a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and forecast; set an emissions reduction target; developed and implemented an local action plan, or monitored progress and reported results. The Township has taken some action however. It has supported a number of initiatives toward reducing the Township’s carbon footprint including following LEED principles in the construction of the library, converting all street lighting to LED, supporting trails and multi-modal transportation and solar projects, continuing to work toward more recycling and waste reduction, and identifying energy efficiency as a priority for the new fire hall.