Fire Chief Casey Cuddy gave an explanation on the current well situation at Northbrook Fire Hall to Council on Monday.

A well was dug at the fire hall site after a drilled well was recently put in but turned out to be contaminated.
Neither of the wells provide sufficient water to the hall because of contamination issues.

“We knew it was a crapshoot but it could've saved us a lot of headaches,” Cuddy said. “The (dug) well has already been decommissioned.”

Cuddy isn't sure yet what the expenses are going to be for the well but the company that installed the dug well was able to salvage a lot of material out of the project which will help cut down the overall cost.
Chief Cuddy offered a couple different options and will be pricing them out and bringing them to Council before moving forward.

The first option is a backwash drainage system that would cost around $17,000 but would create an excess waste water problem. Cuddy wasn't entirely sure the MOE would accept such a system at the fire hall.
The other option is to put in a cistern and have water brought in to fill it. They would then also need to install a U.V. System. Cuddy suggested possibly building a small shed beside the building to house the water tank.

More Mail For Hydro One
Addington Highlands Council supported two different letters that they received regarding equalizing Hydro One's pricing structure for delivery charges between rural and urban customers.

The letters, addressed to Kathleen Wynne, from Tay Valley Township and the Municipality of Greenstone, were requesting that the Provincial government “re-evaluate the structure of hydro in terms of access to delivery and implement structural changes to address the unfair practice of charging more for deliver to rural residents.”

“I think urban and rural customers should be charged the same delivery charges,” Councillor Helen Yanch said to Council.

Waste Sites To Close Early On Xmas Eve
Council made a decision to close the waste sites located in Kaladar, Vennachar, and Hartsmere early on Christmas Eve. Those three locations will be closing at noon on December 24th instead of the usual closing time.

Denbigh Dump Expansion Delayed Yet Again
The Township received news from the Ministry of Environment (MOE) in early November that the file on their request for an expansion of the Denbigh waste site has been closed.
The letter stated “the Ministry understands that the Township is undertaking corrective remedial actions to correct the issues, however, ministry procedures are to close application files for capacity expansions that are not in compliance.”

The letter also states that the Township can submit again once they've addressed the non-compliance issue.
“It's been 10 years now,” Reeve Hogg said. “Every time they change the rules we comply. The rules change faster than we can catch them”

Council made a decision to write the MOE to get more clarity on timelines and their specific compliance issues.

Last May, proposed housekeeping changes to the South Frontenac Official Plan were passed by a 5-4 vote of Council in the face of a storm of protest from long-time waterfront residents.

Now, South Frontenac Township is facing 8 OMB appeals on behalf of over 300 long-time lakefront residents from Buck, Desert, Bobs, Crow, Hambly, Loughborough, Big Clear, Howes and Knowlton Lakes. The residents fear they will lose their current rights to do any major improvements on their existing cottages, because those cottages were built years ago within the 30 metre setback from the shoreline now required for all new construction.

This spring’s  Official Plan changes to section 5.10.2): A) do not permit buildings within the 30-metre setback to be taken down and reconstructed, even on the same footprint and in the same dimensions, and B) define a property as vacant once more than 50% of load-bearing walls have been removed from a building within the setback (and therefore the structure would not be replaceable.) Council did retain that part of section 5.11 which permits replacement of a structure partially or completely destroyed by fire, flood or other ‘act of God’, but removed the right to replace a structure lost through a Township ordered demolition permit.

As spokesperson for the residents’ steering committee, Jeff Peck pointed out at a Committee of the Whole meeting on November 23 that the Official Plan changes do not address the majority of non-conforming lakeshore structures that are neither abandoned nor destroyed by natural causes. Many 60 to 100-year old family cottages which are still in use require more than just patchwork plumbing and wiring upgrades to continue to be safe and functional. He said that sometimes, in cases of mould, rot or decay, old summer cottages may need to be reconstructed in order to continue to be safe and healthy for habitation. This degree of reconstruction will now require an application to the Committee of Adjustment before being granted a building permit.

The residents Peck speaks for are not asking to increase the size of their grandfathered structures; only to have the right to maintain and update the current structures on their current footprints. Recent decisions by the Committee of Adjustment, supported by recommendations from the Health Unit and the CRCA , have consistently resulted in the requirement that wherever possible, all reconstructions must be relocated 30 metres back from the shoreline, thus reinforcing the complainants’ concerns.

This spring, Council accepted planner Mills’ interpretation of the intent of the Township’s Official Plan as: “eventually all buildings will be well set back from waterbodies to ensure protection of our lakes,” even though this interpretation, if followed to conclusion, could force relocation of the historic Township hall itself.        

“We would welcome the opportunity to work with Council to resolve this in a respectful manner, and could withdraw our OMB appeal,” Peck told Council last week; “We feel our individual property rights and the environment can both be protected. The Township could permit reconstruction on the footprint, but also stipulate environmental protection measures such as updated septic systems, water conservation strategies, etc.”

However, the twenty individuals who comprise the steering committee are determined to continue with the OMB appeal if Council shows no wish to work with them toward a mutually acceptable resolution. They are well funded and will be represented by Murray Chown, (Planning Consultant and Expert Witness) and Michael Polowin, (Lawyer). In a 2009 appeal involving the City of Ottawa, Polowing  convinced the OMB that “municipalities may not limit or coercively bring to an end non-conforming or non-complying rights beyond the narrow constraints permitted by the Planning Act, R.S.O.1990, c.P.13 and at common law.” (this ruling was discussed fully in The Digest of Municipal & Planning Law, Jan 2010, Issue 13.)

“An OMB appeal will be unnecessarily costly for all of us,” Peck told the Committee last week.

At the end of the meeting, Councillor Sleeth asked “Are we going to talk with them,” and offered to bring a motion to reconsider Council’s earlier decision. Deputy Mayor Sutherland said they had already come to a decision as a Council. Mayor Vandewal suggested that it was inappropriate to publicly discuss a matter currently before the OMB, and suggested they bring it to the closed session before the Dec 6 Council meeting. To be successful, a Council vote to reconsider a recent decision requires a 2/3 majority.  

NFCS Annual Update
Louise Moody, from North Frontenac Community Services (NFCS), made a presentation to Council on Friday to explain what the NFCS does for youth in the community and to update them on this year's successful programs which Council supported financially.

NFCS offered a weekly after-school program at Clarendon Public School and this past year there were 9 families enrolled in the program. The agency also implemented a “Steps of Success” program in the area that offers youth courses so they can be ready to be home alone and prepares them to babysit for their families. Moody explained that the babysitting courses are offered to kids 11-years old and up.

This past year, with funding from the Ministry of Recreation and Tourism, they were able to introduce area kids to lacrosse and snowshoeing and teach them that they are living in an Indigenous community.
Moody also told Council that lacrosse is a great sport to teach because most kids have no previous experience with the sport and it starts the kids out on an even level. NFCS also now,  has snowshoes that can be rented.

“Rural youth need a different approach,” Moody said, explaining how different North Frontenac is compared to the southern part of the County and how they're trying to create programs and activities that reflect that difference. The Sand Lake swimming program was one of those.

“The biggest challenge was that the youth didn't want to leave,” Moody said. “We want to deliver different programs up here and we can do it.”

Moody also told Council that they are considering a name change to reflect the work they do throughout the Frontenacs. The front runner for a new name is Rural Community Services of Greater Frontenac.
Re-zoning Approval

Reid Shepherd, a planner for the County of Frontenac, presented some notes on a re-zoning application to Council Friday regarding a business that currently exists on Elphin-Maberly Road that is looking to sever it's property and re-zone it's new lot from tourism commercial to rural commercial.

The property, previously operated seasonal rental cabins, hence the tourism zoning, is the new home to Raymond Measurements, a business that manufactures radio-frequency-shielded enclosure cabinets and antennae measurement chambers that are used by the military, government, and high-tech companies.

The application was reviewed by the Committee of Approval and the only issue they had was with the property owner's current driveway into the residence needing to be improved.

Shepherd told Council that the County is recommending they approve the project.

“It's an economic development opportunity,” Shepherd said. “They will be hiring additional employees as well.” Council approved the application.

NF Insurance Savings
North Frontenac will be saving approximately $20,500 in premiums next year, thanks to a joint RFP they sent out this past fall. They will be switching their current coverage over to Frank Cowen for 2017 and will be paying approximately $80,000 for the coverage.

Council Votes Against Ranked Ballots
Council shot down the idea of running the next Municipal election with a ranked ballot system as opposed to the current first-past-the-post system that is in place. They cited the difficulties in explaining the new system to constituents as one of the reasons for not changing their electoral process.

“A lot of Councillors are saying no because they don't want to be the first to go out and educate the public,” Tara Mieske, the Town Clerk/Planning Manager told Council after taking a training course recently on ranked balloting.

Invasive species washing station
The Skootamatta District Ratepayers Association (SDRA), with letters of support from Quinte Conservation and the Mazinaw Property Owners' Association, made a request to Council for usage of a small parcel of land on Skootamatta Lake Road to build a boat washing station to help prevent the spread of invasive species to area lakes. The SDRA said the station “would serve to promote the local community as proactive in managing and protecting the natural environment.” Council voted against the idea citing liability and insurance issues as deterrents.

Freshwater Jellyfish in Gull Lake
The low water levels on North Frontenac lakes are revealing strange things.
“Right now, the way it is, Gull Lake is not going to replenish itself,” Councillor Wayne Good said. “It's lower than I've ever seen it and Kash is the lowest I've ever seen it. “When the water went down on Gull they found bunch of freshwater jellyfish.” Councillor Gerry Martin told Council and said they have the same sting as a saltwater jellyfish.

Massive insurance savings through joint insurance RFP.

Central Frontenac has cut its insurance cost by 2/3rds through a joint request for proposal for insurance services that was undertaken by the four Frontenac Townships and Frontenac County, with the help of a consultant. Insurance companies were asked to quote on providing a single policy to cover all 5 entities, and to quote in each individually. In the end, by choosing the lowest individual offers, each of the townships and the county have realised savings. But none as much as Central Frontenac. Aon Insurance offered to provide “as good or better coverage than we had in the past” said Treasurer Michael McGovern, “at a greatly reduced price.”

Council agreed to sign a three year contract, to cover 2017 and 2019 with Aon at a price of $129,628 each year. In 2016 the township paid over $300,000 for insurance.

“The savings are about $175,000 this year, and when I saw the numbers I looked over the policy very carefully to make sure I wasn’t missing anything,” said McGovern. He said he also received assurances from the consultants, Cameron and Associates, that the policy was sound.

Money to be set aside for Arena Floor

Council decided to follow the advice of the Frontenac Arena Board and will set aside $50,000 to go towards a new floor when the time comes to replace the 40 year old floor at the arena.

Councilor Brent Cameron, who is on the Board, said that the “floor does not need to be replaced this year, or next year or even the year after, but it will need to be replaced, and it could cost up to $700,000.”

The arena supervisor will be proposing that the board do an in-depth analysis of the floor as part of the 2017 budget to determine how long it will last and how much it will cost to replace.

The estimated share of the cost to Central Frontenac is $287,000, so $50,000 would help mitigate against financing costs when the time comes. South Frontenac Township is also committed to creating a $50,000 reserve over the summer, but as they move towards finalising their 2017 budget this month, that commitment is in danger of being lost in the face of other budgetary constraints.

Holiday closure – The township office will be closed on Friday, December 23rd at 4:30 and will not re-open until Tuesday, January 3 at 8:30 am.

New approval process for waste sites

Interim Public Works Manager Mike Richardson, who said he will be leaving the township’s employ at the end of next week ( note - he’s said that before) encouraged the township to employ Golder and Associates to complete some site plan work on the Olden Waste site in order for the site to comply with a new approval process. In place of the Certificate of Approval Process that has been in place for years, a new process, the Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) process. Richardson said that making the change is voluntary for now, but will be mandatory soon. Council agreed and Golder will begin working next month with the expectation of completing the new approval process by February.

Engineering work for 4th Depot Lake Road Culvert Replacement

Council has contracted with Greer Galloway to the tune of $8995 to engineer and administer of a large culvert replacement on 4th Depot Lake Road.

Canada 150

Bill Bowick, and his sidekicks Rose Marie Bowick and Ray Fletcher brought an update about the activities of the Canada 150 committee. Bowick said that plans were proceeding for events throughout the centennial year, starting with a New Year’s Eve Dance in Sharbot Lake and a New Year’s Day levee in Arden. Other events that are planned include a heritage costume dance, a writing project by the United Church Women, a sharing circle by the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation, and special events at the Frontenac Heritage Festival in February, Canada Day, and at the Parham Fair in August.

The Flinton Gold Mine

It is too early to predict either a gold rush or an environmental disaster for the village of Flinton, but Jimmy Sun, President and legal counsel for the Union Glory Gold group of companies, is bullish on the old Addington Mine property.

His company purchased both the surface and subsurface rights to the property, and an adjacent property from Imperial Minerals some years ago, and in a letter to Addington Highlands township staff from earlier this month, he talked about the exploratory activity his company has been carrying out at the property, which is located off Flinton Road (Concession 4, Lot 24, Kaladar).

“We have in the last few years carried out some preliminary work. Last spring some drilling turned up encouraging data and we have since decided to conduct more drilling in an effort to better understand the potential of the property. This drilling should be completed by the end of November,” he said in his letter.

Sun also pointed out that the property was a producing gold mine in the 1930’s. He invited the township to contact him for more information.

Patricia Gray, from the township office, contacted Mr. Sun after meeting with a consultant who was doing a socio-economic study for Union Glory Gold as part of their exploration activities. In addition to contacting Mr. Sun, Gray also spoke with the regional geologist with the Ministry of Mines and Northern Development who said the company is doing some diamond drilling and also doing studies on streams and water in the vicinity of the potential mine site.

“The geologist advised me that the company is complying with requirements at this time,” she said in a report to Council.

Gray also reported that, again according to the geologist, any mining activity is a number of years away and that public consultation will be required if the project proceeds to that stage.

Union Glory Gold has another project in Eastern Ontario that is further along the process of development. It is located near the town of Tudor in the township of Tudor and Cashel, located south and east of Bancroft in Hastings County. The company estimates the Tudor property contains up to $2 billion in gold deposits, according to information that is posted on their website.

Union Glory Gold is based in Toronto and Hong Kong. It lists the Tudor gold project, an iron ore project in Shefferville, Quebec, and the Addington project, on its website.

At their meeting in Denbigh on Monday (November 21) Addington Highlands Council received Patricia Gray’s report on the Flinton gold mine project for information purposes.

(Other items from Addington Highlands Council)

Free rental for NAEC formal dances

Council agreed to provide the Flinton Recreation Centre free of charge for the Christmas and Spring Formals put on by the North Addington Education Centre Student Council. Joel Hasler and Dave Kerr, staff advisers to the student council, wrote to the township making the request because with decreasing enrollment the increasing cost of DJ’s, the students are having trouble breaking even on the dances.

New CBO/facilities manager/bylaw officer position created

As part of an organisational restructuring process, the township will be hiring a full time Chief Building Official who will also have responsibility for bylaw enforcement and will manage township buildings. Until now it has fallen to members of council to oversee buildings such as the former Denbigh schoolhouse and the Land O’Lakes Family Health Team.

Taylor named volunteer of the year, Guardian Pharmacy as Outsanding Business

Northbrook’s Robert Taylor, the driving force behind the Land O’Lakes County Music Hall of Fame this past year, has been involved in community activities for many years. Tobia’s Guardian Pharmacy is a core business in Northbook, along with the Bank of Montreal and Foodland stores. They will both be honoured at the township Christmas Dinner next month.

Rural Homelessness

David Townsend of Southern Frontenac Community Services and Louise Moody of Northern Frontenac Services gave a presentation on rural homelessness in the three townships north of Kingston. They emphasized the difference between city homelessness, which is often visible, and the rural version, which is much less noticeable, with people often subsisting in out-of-the way unserviced or poorly serviced accommodations, or ‘couch surfing’ with acquaintances. In rural areas, making it possible for people to remain in their ‘community of choice’ is essential.

Addictions and Mental Health, NFCSC and SFCSC have formed a collaborative approach to working with the homeless and those at risk throughout the County. Last May, over 50 community members and service providers met at a rural summit in Sharbot Lake. They chose to pursue expanding housing options in rural areas by working with local landlords, investigating what has worked well in other places, such as shared housing, and mini housing projects, and agreed to improve communication through forming a rural poverty coalition.

Townsend emphasized that they were not asking Council for concrete assistance other than their awareness and interest in rural housing needs.

He and Moody were warmly thanked for their work.

SFCSC Relocation has Cost Overrun

Townsend remained as a second delegate concerning the issue of the unexpectedly high cost of relocating all of SFCSC’s services to the Grace Centre. Purpose of the move is to make service provision more efficient and to realize annual savings of 22,000 in rent, utilities, etc. Establishing two portables to accommodate the food bank and the George Street offices has cost $60,000 more than budgeted (the first time, Townsend noted, that he has not brought a project in on budget.) So far, SFCSC has accumulated 40,000; Townsend asked Council if they would consider a one-time grant of $25,000 to the agency. Mayor Vandewal said that the budget was not yet set, and they would include this request in their discussions.

South Frontenac Waterfront Coalition

Jeff Peck addressed Council on behalf of a group of over 200 waterfront residents from “all the larger lakes in the Township” who have opposed and appealed Council’s recent bylaw amendments regarding waterfront structures. Peck emphasized that these residents merely want “the ability to use and maintain what they currently have.” He presented some compelling arguments for addressing the “grey area’ between derelict waterfront structures and those damaged or destroyed by “act of God”. “We have lots of common ground: can we work together on this? We don’t want to be adversarial. (by going to the OMB) for we only end up paying your legal fees and our own: could we open that door again?” Council had no questions for him, but later said that since this was before the OMB, it should be discussed in a closed session, perhaps prior to the Dec 6 Council meeting.

Applewood Parkland Fee

Planner Lindsay Mills brought the recommendation that Council accept the $30,000 cash in lieu of parkland offered by the developer of the 21-unit Applewood condominium project in Storrington district. The owner has based his proposal on a land value of $600,000. When questioned by Council about how the value was determined, Mills was unsure how or whether the property had been appraised. Orr said he thought the township lawyer had referred to an appraisal, and agreed to look into the question. Mayor Vandewal said Council needed a policy about appraisals from both sides in situations like this.

Who Owns Lane off Bellrock Road?

A request that the Township accept a lane at 4725 Bellrock Road (Hamilton) has opened up the question of who owns the 400 foot lane: originally it belonged to the County, but there appears to be no record of it having been transferred to South Frontenac at amalgamation. The Public Works Manager, who was unable to be at tonight’s meeting, will be asked to look into this.

Staff Budget Report

Treasurer Fragnito brought a summary of changes to the 2017 draft budget. Currently, after the cuts recommended at the last budget meeting, the Township has an unallocated sum of $52,475 in order to to meet the goal of a 2.2% taxation increase. This leaves them with the options of adjusting the the taxation impact downward, or adding in some items such as the CFDC grant request for $35,000, if it is not covered by the County. Mayor Vandewal commented, “This looks a lot better than it did in the Frontenac News.” There was some discussion in favour of SFCSC’s request for one-time funding assistance, in view of their very good track record of service to the community.

Ranked Balloting for 2018 Elections

Although recent amendments to the Municipal Elections Act now offer municipalities the option of introducing ranked balloting, CAO Orr brought a report to Council recommending that they maintain the existing First Past the Post system for the 2018 elections. He suggested Council might wish to request a report back to Council in 2019, based on the experiences of municipalities that used it. (to date no Canadian municipal, provincial or federal election uses ranked balloting, so there is no opportunity to learn from others.) Council showed no interest in becoming famous as pioneers in this field. Councillor Barr summed it up: “ we already have too few people voting in our elections: we don’t want to make it even more complicated than it is now.”  

As members of Frontenac County Council sit down this week to consider the 2017 county budget, they will be facing a document that includes an increase of $333,635.60 in the amount of money to be levied to ratepayers for county programs in 2017.

As Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Pender said in the report accompanying the budget document, staff worked towards building a budget that kept the increase to within the 1.5% inflation rate for 2016, but found it difficult given a number of factors.

One that he mentioned in particular was a $111,000 increase in the base budget for Frontenac Paramedic Services.

“This increase results from salary and benefit costs,” he said, “the additional reserve transfer re the [new] stretchers and the ongoing phase in of the Wolfe Island enhancement.”

The $111,000 cost is being brought into the levy over three years to mitigate its impact.

Still, there are other projects that, if left in the budget would result in an increase approaching 5%.

In presenting the budget to Council, staff recommended a series of changes to bring it back to the 3.72% level.

The budget includes a $35,000 one time grant to the Frontenac CFDC for operational purposes.

After a budget session this week, changes will be incorporated into the final version, which is set for approval at the December meeting.

Also, at the meeting Frances Smith will be stepping down as Warden to be replaced by Ron Vandewal.

South Frontenac Council met as a Committee of the Whole on Saturday morning (November 12) to go over the 2017 township budget. Parts of the budget had been brought to committee meetings as far back as early September, but this was the first time the entire package was presented. The budget numbers were no surprise, as the township has embarked on a 10 year budget and infrastructure plan which calls for an increase of 2.2% per year over that time. The biggest structural change in this years budget is a revenue neutral change for the township which will, however, impact some ratepayers.

The township is scrapping a $180 waste management user fee to each household. The revenue that those fees generated (about $1.2 million) will now come from general taxation. What that means for ratepayers is those whose property is valued under the township average of about $250,000 will end up paying more than $180 towards the waste management budget and those who's property is worth less will pay less.

Aside from that change, staff proposed some cuts to the budget to meet the 2.2% target. These include the following cuts: a 35,000 grant for Ken Garrett Park, a $35,000 grant to the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation (which was only to be enacted if Frontenac County decided not to support the agency this year), $53,000 in public works staffing costs for a mechanic and a light equipment operator, $50,000 that was to be placed in a reserve fund for the Frontenac Arena, and $6,600 for operating costs for an outdoor movie screen at Harrowsmith Park. The total cuts amounts to a savings of $180,327.

The net result of all those changes is to bring in a budget with an increase in the total levy to ratepayers for township purposes of about $750,000 this year. That increase is covered by new assessment (ie growth) of 0.85% and from the 2.2% average tax increase.

Among other changes that were made to some of the budget proposals that came to Council earlier in the process was a scrapping of the plan to repair and resurface the Sunbury and Westport Roads, multi-million dollar projects that were to be financed through borrowing. $150,000 has remained in the 2017 budget for engineering work on Sunbury Road, which will make it “shovel ready” should a large infrastructure grant become available.

Among major road projects still on the books this year are two large jobs. One is the Harrowsmith intersection upgrade and reconfiguration which will cost over $1.5 million all told, with $1 million of that coming from 2017 taxes. The other is the Bedford Road north of Sydenham which will cost $1 million to upgrade. Another $600,000 will be spent on Green Bay bridge #28, $350,000 on Randy Clark Road, $300,000 on Buck Bay Road, and $250,000 on Bradshaw Road.

The largest project on a township building is a $1 million project at the Storrington Centre, of which $550,000 will come from 2017 taxation and the rest from reserve funds. That project includes accessible washrooms, an updated septic system, parking lot improvements, retrofitting, a kitchen upgrade and space reconfiguration.

At the meeting on Saturday, there were two additional requests for funding that were considered. One came from Mike Nolan of the Tett Park Association. Tett Road runs off of Perth Road near the border with the Township of Rideau Lakes. On behalf of the association, Nolan asked that the road be paved and that streetlights be installed at the junction of Tett and Perth Roads. Council instructed Treasurer Louise Fragnito to put $10,000 in the budget for the street lights but put off the paving project. The other request came from Southern Frontenac Community Services (SFCS), which is looking for $25,000 to help cover some unexpected planning and building department fees from the township related to the new portables the agency has brought on to its Grace Centre site in Sydenham.

“We perceive the cost increases to be the result of major changes required by the Building Department. Many of these changes appear to have lacked clear communication and interpretation of building codes. This has also resulted in major deviations from our original plan,” said SFCS Executive Director David Townsend in a letter to Council.

Council referred the SFSC request to Chief Administrative Officer Wayne Orr, who will be talking to David Townsend about the situation.

The township budget will be on the agenda at the next regular Committee of the Whole meeting on November 22nd . A number of changes will be made based on recommendations from last Saturday's meeting.

The budget is set for adoption on December 3rd .

Council opened with a minute of silence in memory of Eileen Sleeth, recognized as one of South Frontenac’s 2016 Volunteers of the Year, and wife of Councillor Ron Sleeth.

Fees for Sale of Public Lands and Road Allowances

Deputy Mayor Sutherland and Mayor Vandewal disagreed sharply on the question of whether or not the current system of pricing closed road allowances was being “fairly and equitably” applied. Sutherland had brought a notice of motion proposing to ask the Corporate Services Committee to consider updating the formula for sale of public lands. Vandewal said “I think it (the current system) works well as it is, now.” Councilor John Mcdougall cautioned against legislating all the flexibility out of the process. When Sutherland said he thought the present system was unfair because Council has not always charged everyone at the same rate,

Vandewal asked “Didn’t you vote to reduce the Boy Scout Camp fee?” Sutherland accused the Mayor of being out of order. Eventually all but Vandewal and Roberts voted to refer the issue to the Corporate Services Board for a recommendation.

FIT Solar Resolution Support

Following David Hahn’s delegation at the last Committee of the Whole on behalf of Wintergreen Renewal Energy Cooperative, Council agreed to reconsider their decision not to support the Wintergreen project. They had previously rejected it because the applicants had not followed the required procedure in bringing their application forward. It was approved this time around.

Lobbying Strategy

The Township has been unsuccessful in obtaining grants or other financial support for major infrastructure funding, such as Sunbury Road and Road 38. Council agreed to ask the CAO to prepare a report recommending a Township lobbying strategy which might help bring our needs to the attention of Provincial and Federal officials.

Terms of Committee Chairs

Council passed an amendment to the Procedural bylaw clarifying that the Chairs of the Committee of Adjustment and South Frontenac Recreation Committee should serve for “no more than a period of two consecutive years.” This restriction will not apply to any of the other township committees.

Insurance RFP

The County issued a joint insurance RFP for all lower tiers as well as the County for insurance coverage, services and premiums. This RFP was structured to try to obtain cost savings by jointly selecting one server across all municipalities. However, because the savings by municipality were not consistently from the same provider, each municipality was left to select its own provider. South Frontenac chose JLT Canada’s bid of $230,000, for a savings of $102,014 for the next two years, with an option to extend it one more year, depending on “reasonable price adjustments and satisfactory service.”

New Building Official

The motion to appoint a new Chief Building Official was briefly introduced by Mayor Vandewal; “We all know about the new Building Official.” The motion passed. A reading of the bylaw reveals the person’s name is Ryan Arcand. There was no other information given. The bylaw is to take effect December 05/16.

No Development Services Manager

CAO Wayne Orr announced that no suitable candidate had been found for the newly created position of Manager of Developmental Services, and the position will be re-posted in the New Year. For the time being, the Planner/Deputy Clerk and the Chief Building Official will report directly to CAO Orr.

Fermoy Hall

Council agreed to release up to $5,000 of the $30,000 budgeted for Fermoy Hall so the electrical portion of the work can be done this year.

Search is on for Canada 150 Community Leader

Council has been tasked with choosing one or more local people to “act as official community voices in Canada 150 events in the municipality”. As the deadline is near, Councillor McDougall suggested that staff and Council make recommendations within a week. The list will be passed on to the Public Services Committee, for a final recommendation.

At a special meeting on November 2, members of Frontenac County Council listened to a 20 minute presentation from Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Pender and Manager of Planning and  
Development Services Joe Gallivan about the merits of hiring a new Economic Development Officer to replace the retiring Anne-Marie Young.

The meeting, which was devoted to only that topic, came about as the result of a notice of motion at the previous meeting by North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins.
Higgins notice of motion asked that the =hiring process for the position be frozen until council has time to consider contracting out
the service.

Rather than put off the hiring, Pender suggested the special meeting to settle the matter. In their presentations, Pender and Gallivan outlined some of the goals of the department going forward.

“An Economic Development department does not create jobs,” Pender said at the end of the detailed presentation. “It is people who want to start a business in a specific location who create jobs. We don’t make that happen. But when someone calls us and they find out that in order to start something up they will have to undertake a long, expensive planning process, that’s how we lose them. That’s why planning and economic development need to work together, and outsourcing economic development brings risk.”

“There is a lot of good detail in this report,” said Frontenac Islands Mayor Dennis Doyle. “Back in 2008 we made a conscious decision at this table to divert the Economic Development Officer’s time to the K&P Trail. Now we are pulling that back to none. I’m generally in favour of keeping on the track we are on. Outsourcing makes me nervous.”

One by one, Councilors spoke out in favour of hiring a new Economic Development Officer.

South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal, who as chair of the meeting, spoke out only at the end.

“If this goes through, as I think it will, we need to make sure that whoever has that position works with people at the CFDC [Community Futures Development Corporation] and KEDCO [Kingston Economic Development Corporation] and not against them.”

There were 7 members of Council at the meeting, John Inglis from North Frontenac was absent, and 6 of them supported the motion. Ron Vandewal voted against it.

As Pender told Council at their previous meeting, a short list of candidates has been developed, and interviews can now proceed.

Anne-Marie Young will be retiring at the end of the year.