New rink in Sharbot Lake one step closer

but money needs to come from local community

The Oso Recreation has long hoped to build an outdoor rink at the Oliver Scott Memorial Park, the ball field that is located next to Granite Ridge Education Centre, and at Council this week Jeremy Neven, Manager of Development Services, presented a set of drawings for a rink that is located within all the required setbacks in the zoning bylaw, and that has the blessing of the Public Works Manager as far as distance from Road 38 is concerned.

“I must say I was surprised by how much room there was for a rink,” said Neven.

Rec committee members intend to build a change room/washroom and a canteen as well on the site, for use in the winter and for the ball field in the summer time.

In his report, Neven said “in addition to the Rec. Committees fund raising efforts, plans are being made to engage township staff to ensure monies are collected and receipted appropriately, setbacks and building codes are met and public works are not affected.”

While all systems are go for the project as far as the planning issues are concerned, it is left to the local committee to raise the necessary funds to put up the rink.

Emergency culvert replacement

Interim Public Works Manager Mike Richardson came to council to talk about a large culvert at 4th Lake Road in Hinchinbrooke ward.

Because of the low water levels, the culvert, which is normally always half full of water, has been left dry. This allowed township roads staff to inspect it, and when it looked suspicious, Richardson himself walked through it.

“I'm not that glad that I did,” he said, “I found it was in a sorry state.”

Richardson said the culvert will likely collapse if left in place until next spring. He suggested, and council agreed, that he immediately approach three engineering companies to quote on engineering for the project.

It will be funded through reserves, which will have to be replenished in 2017, curtailing other potential road and bridge upgrades next year.

Facilities update

Of the projects that were planned for this year, a number are completed or under construction. The Boat ramp at Big Gull Lake, a $20,000 project, has been completed. Construction is underway for the $220,000 addition to the Mountain Grove fire hall for a new library. A $31,000 project to update shelving in the Parham library has been completed. The $20,000 range hood for in the kitchen at the Kennebec Fire Hall has been installed.

The fencing and lighting project at the Parham ball field, originally budgeted at $37,965, has gone over budget. Council approved an increase in spending to $49,445. The extra funds will come from the recreation reserve.

The township has also applied for a number of one time federal “Canada 150” infrastructure grants. They range from larger to smaller grants: $113,052 for the rink and building project at Oliver Scott Park in Sharbot Lake, $53,000 for the Thompson's Cut Trail, $50,000 for the new Olden ball field, $6,600 for the Kennebec hall range hood, $1,650 for playground fencing at the Parham ball field, and $1,980 for the Parham ball field canteen water pressure system. No one knows exactly when the results of the massive nationwide grant program will be known.

New boat for building department

In order to enforce the building code on island properties, council was asked to support the purchase of a boat for $8,582.

Jeremy Neven said that the department is currently dependent on the property owners to ferry them across in their own boats, which raises a liability issue, “and can also lead to some uncomfortable boat rides back to shore if the properties fail our inspection.”

Icarus ascending

The representatives from Icarus Power, who were rebuffed when they tried to address council at the previous meeting because there was no township staff report available concerning the three solar power projects they were seeking municipal support for.

This time around, a staff report said they were well within the necessary setbacks for Feed in Tariff (FIT) projects, and they have also obtained signatures from neighbouring property owners in support of the projects. Council passed a motion of support for the 3 projects, two of which will generate 500 kw of power if approved, and the third 250 kw.

NFCS gets continued support for youth program

Louise Moody, the Executive Director of Northern Frontenac Community Services (NFCS), outlined the extensive youth program that the agency has built over the past few years. With no provincial funding, but support from foundations and the municipalities of Central and North Frontenac, the program has increased its offerings for youth over the last three years.

The township committed $15,500 in 2017, the same amount they provided in 2016.

ROMA electing new member

Liz Huff, a board member of the Rural Ontario Municipalities Association (ROMA), made a presentation to Council on Friday on the roles and benefits of being a board member for ROMA.

ROMA is an organization made up of elected councillors from across rural Ontario that lobbies the Provincial government to make changes at the municipal level. Huff, a Councillor in the Leeds/1000 Islands riding, explained that ROMA tries to find a common voice across municipalities in Ontario to try and deal with some of the issues that are specific to rural Ontario.

She cited rising policing costs, access to broadband internet, taxation issues, implications of cap and trade, and higher energy costs as some of the issues that ROMA is currently discussing and working on.

“You get ideas about service sharing and cost sharing by meeting other municipalities,” Huff said explaining how it can benefit North Frontenac to have a Councillor join ROMA.

If a member of North Frontenac's Council was to be elected into ROMA they'd be representing Zone 6 which runs from the Ottawa River down to Quinte West, a large chunk of area to cover. ROMA is electing a member for Zone 6 on January 30th at their conference 'ROMA Speaks' which is being held, ironically or not, in downtown Toronto.

New Sign For Snow Road Community Centre

Molly Hartin, from the South Palmerston Community Centre (SPCC), made a presentation to Council regarding updating the exterior sign at the Snow Road Community Centre.

Hartin had made a humerous Powerpoint which she screened before Council, that featured music by local musicians Kathryn Briggs and Terry Tufts and had the Councillors laughing at some humorous pictures. The SPCC told Council that the sign will cost just under $2900 to have sandblasted, reinstalled and repainted with the new logo. They said it could cost an extra $1000 if the contractor has to pour a new footing for the sign.

“I wonder what the 2 councillors from Ward 3 think?” Councillor Gerry Martin asked jokingly as both Councillors weren't in attendance at the meeting.

Council approved the resolution for the sign and decided the monies would come from the Special Parks Ward 3 fund.

Part of Hartin's presentation mocked the mess of signs that crowd Snow Road Station and that confuse new visitors to the area.

“Maybe we need to add a signage by-law as business arising?” Mayor Ron Higgins asked Council.

1% Municipal Tax

Mayor Ron Higgins made a short report on an Association of Municipalities Ontario (AMO) meeting he attended last week where 80% of the attendees were in favour of adding a 1% “Municipal” tax in Ontario to cover the fiscal gap they're experiencing in infrastructure and funding. Mayor Higgins was against the idea, which would bring sales taxation in Ontario up to 14%, from the current 13% (HST).

“The reason I'm upset is we're helping the government to bail them out of a situation they've created,” Higgins said. “They're trying to put a Bandaid on a problem that the provincial government created.”

“We were looking after our infrastructure quite well until we got hit with downloaded services,” Higgins said.

“I want to make sure that the AMO board understands my position even though it isn't a majority,” said Higgins who was frustrated that that was the one option they were presenting.

Liz Huff from ROMA, who was still in the audience during this point of the meeting, spoke about the issue.

“AMO has been working on this for years. It isn't the only option they looked at. The basic premise is that property tax isn't sufficient to sustain municipalities in Canada. We now have a picture of what it would cost ($8.6 billion) to keep our infrastructure in shape versus what the ability of the property tax is, locally, to carry that.

“It seems to me we were told it would mean an 8% annual property tax increase on the average rural municipality in Ontario to carry that cost. Out of all the unappealing options at least the 1% puts it in our hands,” she said.

North Frontenac Looking At Consolidating Wards 2 and 3

Council had a conversation on Friday about amalgamating Wards 2 and 3 into one ward and having just two Wards in the township. The reasoning behind this is that then the two zones, Ward 1 and 2+3, would have closer to a 50/50 split of the population.

They decided to bring this idea to the public in June 2017 for discussion which would leave them time to implement the new system, if things changed, for the 2018 election.

Sale of Road Allowance puts an end to years of debate

It is not often that the ghost of the founder of Flinton, the legendary Senator and business man Billa Flint, is brought up in the context of a decision by a contemporary council. But that is what happened on Monday (November 7) in the context of a decision to sell a 32 by 40 foot parcel of land behind the former United Church in Flinton to the Orser family.

The Orsers purchased the church 5 years ago and have been struggling ever since to obtain the necessary approvals to put in a septic system behind the building. The solution that came to Council for final approval on Monday was for them to sell part of the road allowance to the adjacent Skootamatta River to the Orsers.

Three delegations came forward to comment on the proposed sale. One, James Wood, merely sought clarification. Another, June Phillips and Caol Lessard from the Addington Highlands Public Library, which has a branch next door to the former church, objected to the sale on the grounds that it will impinge on their ability to run outdoor children programs next to the library. They noted as well, in their written submission, that “the neighbour looking to purchase the property has caused many access issues. If he is able to purchase any part of the property we feel these problems will grow.”

The most vociferous opponent to the proposal was Flinton resident Bruce Hasler. He asked council if they considered themselves wiser than all of those who have served on council “for the last 157 years since the road allowance was established by Bella Flint and surveyed by John Emerson in 1859.”

He said, “I would think that you would have to have the ego of Trump to put yourselves above all those smart people and stop and sell this property after all this time.”

He added that “any councilor who votes for this bylaw is guilty of ignoring the rights of taxpayers, and should resign.”

Councilors Tony Fritsch, Kirby Thompson, and Deputy Reeve Helen Yanch all briefly engaged in back and forth comments with Hasler, saying they looked at all of the issues before coming to the decision and that the right of way will still be in place, though it will be narrowed for a 40 foot stretch.

Later in the meeting, after the opponents and the Orser family had left the meeting, the sale came up for approval. Councilor's Thompson and Fritsch both said that they would like to see a low fence constructed to mark off the edge of the road allowance and the new boundary of the Orser property.

Council agreed that the township should pay for the fence because it is for the townships benefit that it is being constructed. The Orsers need only agree to its construction in order for the sale to be approved at the next meeting.

A discussion about whether it was possible to prohibit the Orsers from parking in front of the library fizzled when council realised that their only option was to prohibit all parking in that location, which would not help anyone.

“The Orsers should just be encouraged to park on their own property,” said Helen Yanch.

Police report

Napanee Detachment Commander Pat Finnegan made his quarterly visit to council, outlining the activities of the OPP in Addington Highlands over the summer months.

He paid particular attention to a letter that the township forwarded to his office that came from Robert Taylor, who operates a fruit and vegetable stand in front of his property on Hwy. 41 in Northbrook. In his letter, Taylor said that traffic travels at high speed in that part of Northbrook, and dangerous driving is rampant. He said that the police presence in Northbrook has gone down in recent years and that had made the problem worse.

Finnegan said that he appreciates the letter, and thanked Council for forwarding it, and added that “we responded by taking a closer look at that is going on there and at our activities. We need to determine, in these cases, if there is major problem or just the perception of a major problem.”

While Finnegan said it is true that many northbound summer drivers start speeding up in Northbrook well before they reach the 80 km zone, there has been no spike in incidents in that location.

He also said that the detachment is less likely to park a police car with a radar gun in a fixed location these days “because it has been shown to be ineffective. People slow down when they see the police and when they get out of sight they just speed up again.”

Instead, he said they often use unmarked cars with mobile radar and other techniques to patrol the roadways.

All told, 700 motor vehicle charges have been laid in Addington Highlands this year, 588 between June 1 and September 30th. Most of those have been provincial offences such as speeding, seat belt infractions, cell phone use by drivers, etc. That figure includes patrols along Hwy. 7 in the the township as well as on Hwy. 41 and other arterial and back roads.

Finnegan also said that the OPP is investigating vandalism at the former Northbrook fire hall. It was broken into, covered in graffiti, some of it anti-police, and some furniture that was stored in the building was destroyed. Finnegan indicated that he expects the investigation will turn up the culprits eventually.

The hall has since been emptied and the doors secured.

Kaladar Comunity Hall

Council received a letter from Penny Hinchey, the secretary of the Kaladar Community Club, regarding the future of the Kaladar hall. The letter outlined the difficulty the club as encountered keeping the hall in operation, which has recently become more acute when the Land O'Lakes Tourist Association stopped renting office space in the hall.

“So my question to you is, rather than shutting the hall down, which would be a huge loss to the community, is it possible for the township to basically take over the hall?” Hinchey said in her letter.

Hinchey added that she believes this has been done with the Cloyne, Harlowe and Denbigh Halls, and concluded her letter by saying, “hoping to hear back from you before we have to take some drastic decisions.”

Reeve Hogg said first that the Cloyne and Harlowe Halls are not in the township.

The township does, however, maintain the Flinton Recreation Centre, the Family Health Team Building in Northbrook and both the Denbigh Hall and the Denbigh Recreation Centre.

“I think we should ask them for a financial statement to see what we are looking at here,” said Councilor Tony Fritsch.

Denbigh Recreation Centre

Council received the engineering plans for renovating the kitchen at the Denbigh Recreation Centre but will not take on the project unless a grant can be found to help pay the cost.

Flinton Recreation Centre.

A $24,000 contract was awarded to Hook's for the supply and installation of new flooring in the Flinton Recreation Centre. The top floor will be done in 2016 and the bottom in early 2017 in order to spread the cost over two budget years.

An end to 55 years of service by one family to Addington Highlands Township

In 1986 Royce Rosenblath took over from his father Joe as the “road boss” in the former township of Denbigh, Abinger and Ashby after his father had served in the role for 26 years. 29 years later, now serving under the title of the Roads and Waste Management Supervisor in the amalgamated township of Addington Highlands, he is leaving at the end of the November.

In a letter he delivered to Council on Monday (February 7), he said “I would like to thank Reeve Hogg and the Council, both present and past, and the ratepayers of Addington Highlands for the opportunity to work with them for the past 29+ years ... I have enjoyed my employment and will miss working with my coworkers when my retirement day comes. Please accept this letter as my official notice of retirement, My last day at Addington Highlands will be November 30, 2016.”

Councilor Tony Fritsch said to Rosenblath that “there is no doubt that there will be a hole to fill after you leave. No one has the same feel for the history of the township, why decisions were made, what works and does not work.”

No reason was given for Rosenblath's decision to retire, although in his letter he noted that he would like to thank Tanya [also a Rosenblath – his cousin by marriage] who has been acting as the Roads and Waste Manager for the past 3+ months.

He may have had more to say at an in camera meeting which followed the regular meeting of Council.

Addington Highlands has also been undergoing an operational review this year, and one of its recommendations was the establishment of a Chief Administrative Officer to oversee all township operations. Currently it is one of a few townships where senior managers, such as the roads and waste manager, fire chief, and chief building official, all report directly to council.

Two special meetings have been set for next week to discuss that review.

At the end of his letter Rosenblath said he will be “glad to provide whatever assistance I can to provide for a smooth transition.”

The meeting began with a minute of silence for remembrance.

FIT 5.0 Solar Projects

Two proposals were brought to Council hoping for Township endorsement which, although not essential to the final project, can be a help in getting further approval. The Icarus (Rutledge Road) application will come forward to next week’s Council meeting for consideration. The second one, Soventex/Wintergreen, brought by David Hahn, had been turned down by last week’s Council meeting, on the grounds that they had not done the required preparatory presentation. They will therefore have to wait for a formal notice of motion to reopen the matter.

OMB Review

The province is seeking input into their current review of the OMB process. The Association of Municipalities has provided a position paper and a guide to the consultation. Described as “a dense document” by Councillor McDougall, this will be brought back for further discussion and recommendation at the next Committee of the Whole meeting, after Council members have some time to study it. The two core principles of the OMB reform seem to be: a greater role for municipalities, and the establishment of some form of adjudication process.

Committee Chair Term Appointments

Staff requested clarification of the policy that chairs of committees should serve a maximum of two years. The Corporate Services Committee has asked how broadly this policy should apply: what about sub committees? Committees like the Pumpkinfest or the Verona Community Association, which, as Councillor Mcdougall commented, “Aren’t really our business.” After a discussion, council opinion was fairly evenly split. The question will come back to Council next week for a vote.

All-Day Budget Meeting

Council will meet this Saturday beginning at 9:00 to work through the 2017 budget.

As the leader of a revolution, North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins has turned out to be a little gun shy.

At the regular meeting of Frontenac County Council in Sharbot Lake on October 19, Higgins put forward a notice of motion to suspend the hiring process for a new economic development officer for the county, even though the job had been advertised and a short list of candidates had even been selected.

The county’s current economic development officer, Anne Marie Young, will be retiring at the end of the year. She recently received the award for Developer of the Year by the Ontario East Economic Development Commission, and just this week she accepted an award in Saskatoon on behalf of the county from the Economic Developers Association of Canada for the #INFrontenac brand that was introduced this past July.

Higgins’ notice of motion led to a special meeting to be called this week, on November 2, to discuss the economic development officer position and the possibility of contracting out the functions of the office instead of hiring a new person.

Higgins was not alone in questioning the new position. Earlier in that October 19 meeting, both Deputy Warden Ron Vandewal and Frontenac Islands Councilor Natalie Nossal talked about contracting out economic development in the context of a debate about providing an emergency grant to help the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation (FCFDC).

Nossal and Vandewal voted against the grant, not because they do not support the FCFDC, but because they thought it might be better to contract out economic development to the FCFDC, thus providing a boost to the agency and saving the county the need to hire a new person to run the department.

Ron Higgins is a former member of the board of directors of the FCFDC, an unpaid position.

However, this week, Higgins said in an interview with Elliot Ferguson of the Whig Standard that his “concerns were addressed after talking with [Frontenac County CAO Kelly] Pender and seeing the external job posting for the position.”

He also indicated that he probably would support the position when it comes to a vote.

CAO Pender prepared a report for that special meeting, and included the job description for the economic development officer.

In his report, Pender noted that earlier in her tenure, Anne Marie Young spent as much as 50% of her time working on bringing the K&P Trail project to fruition, and also spent a lot of time supporting sustainability initiatives, including community engagement, following the release of the Directions for Our Future document. He also said that working on trail development has decreased to 25% of Young's time in the past 18 months as the project nears completion, and work on sustainability initiatives has decreased with the folding of the county sustainability committee and the transfer of 100% of federal gas tax funds to member municipalities.

Focus for the role has shifted to the development and implementation of a new economic charter, working with businesses and local and regional governments on economic development initiatives, and other related tasks.

Pender’s report also provided a comparison between the contracting out model and an in-house hire for the position.

The comparison came out strongly in favour of the in-house model in terms of direct oversight and transparency, although it provided no detail to support some of its assertions. For example, Pender’s report said that the contracting model would result in “no direct reporting to the council or the public” and that “grants to individual businesses can be made discretion of the board” of the contracting agency.

(For the results of the vote on contracting out of economic development services, which took place on November 2, look to Frontenacnews.ca or our Facebook or Twitter feeds)

Update - By a vote of 5 to 2, Council supported a motion to proceed with hiring an Economic Development Officer. Ron Vandewal cast both the nay votes (He has two votes on council by virtue of being the Mayor of South Frontenac, which contributes 70% of county taxes.)

Willowbank Subdivision

Inverary Council approved the amount of $3,364 for the required cash-in-lieu of parkland for Phase 1 of this subdivision which is located on Perth Road near Davison Road.

Right-of-Way Closure

Storrington In a close vote, Council agreed to reduce the costs for the sale of a portion of Township-owned road allowance to Ron Campbell, to match the selling price of a neighbouring piece. Deputy Mayor Sutherland objected, on the grounds that this seemed to amount to a double standard in regard to others who had been charged higher amounts. Sleeth referred to the property as “a worthless strip.” Vandewal reminded Council that the wording of the policy gives Council the option to reduce costs if deemed reasonable to do so.

Fence Viewers

Council agreed to appoint the two Township by-law officers as fence viewers, a role that is separate from their job in bylaw enforcement. Together with the currently available viewer, Tasha Lloyd, this will provide the three fence viewers needed by the planning department. The remuneration will be increased from $75. to $200. per day, and will include mileage.

Sydenham Walking Tour to Go Online Soon

Council made a motion to ask the County’s mapping services to develop a digitalized version of the self-guided historical walking tour of Sydenham, which was published several years ago. It could then be placed on the County and Township websites so it will be readily available to cellphone users.

Park Model Trailers

Councillor Revill introduced a motion to to request a report from the Planning Department confirming amendments required to the Zoning By-law to prohibit park model units in the Recreational Resort Commercial Zone. These park model units do not conform in size and construction to the intent of trailers being either transient or seasonal.

Financial Policy:

Budget Management Since May, the CAO, Treasurer, Public Works Manager and supervisors have been meeting monthly to review year-to-date financials. Council approved a formal policy for continuing this process, with the goal of “addressing the need for flexibility to respond to unforeseen demands or unexpected opportunities, while balancing the need to ensure that budgets are adhered to and the direction of Council is not altered.”

Glendower Hall, Front Entrance

Council agreed to release $5,000 from the capital budget for the design and engineering of a new accessible front entrance for Glendower Hall, in Bedford.

Community Caring: Quietly Effective

Commenting on Community Caring’s annual financial report, Council Liaison John McDougall called them “A quiet group that goes about the job with no fuss.” Run by volunteers, the group rents space in the Princess Anne Building from the Township for $2400 a year. They collect, sort and sell donated clothing and small household items for $5.00 a large plastic bag, thus providing many customers with good affordable clothing, and donating their profits back into the community. Last year, they gave almost $30,000 to a variety of social service related groups. ($9,000 went to SFCSC, $7,000 to the South Frontenac food bank, $4,000 to New Leaf Link, $4,000 to Almost Home, $2,000 to Interval House.)  

$35,000 allocated in County budget for FCFDC

Frontenac County Council has defied the advice of their Chief Administrative Officer, Kelly Pender, by tentatively placing a $35,000 grant in their 2017 budget to help the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation (FCFDC) cover its operating costs.

Anne Prichard, executive director of the FCFDC, made a pitch to the council last month. She pointed out that her agency, which is a federally funded not-for-profit corporation, has run into difficulty covering administrative costs because of structural under-funding.

The FCFDC provides support for businesses in Frontenac County in the form of advice and workshops on various topics as well as providing loans and overseeing federal grant programs. A funding cut several years ago eliminated one position in the now three-person operation. In order to balance the books, Prichard has been using a portion of the interest earned on loans to cover operating costs, which is permitted under the agency’s operating guidelines from the FEDNOR, the federal agency that funds it.

However, as Prichard pointed out to Frontenac County in September, the loan portfolio of the FCFDC has increased as new businesses have come on stream in Frontenac County and existing businesses contemplate expansion.

“You are essentially a victim of your own success,” said North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins, after Prichard made her pitch in September.

“To an extent,” Prichard said, adding that new funding is being determined by FEDNOR, which could alleviate or eliminate the problem.

“We are the youngest and one of the smallest of the CFDCs in Ontario, and that has made it difficult under the current funding formula. We have made FEDNOR aware of this and we hope that is reflected in the new formula,” Prichard said.

When Prichard asked for support from Frontenac County, she presented two options: $35,000 for operational support, or $30,000 to support one of the FCFDC initiative, the Food and Beverage (FAB) region project it has undertaken with L&A and Hastings Counties.

In his report on the requests, CAO Kelly Pender said the $35,000 request to support day-to-day operations was not something he could recommend.

“Operating costs are very seldom, if ever, funded by a granting agency to any organisation. It is not known if this is a one-time cost or if it is a request for an on-going grant request. $35,000 represents a 0.41% levy [to Frontenac ratepayers],” he said in a report to a budget meeting that preceded the regular meeting of council last Wednesday, October 19.

Pender did support option 2, which would see Frontenac County joining with two other neighbouring counties in funding a specific project. He added the proviso that the FCFDC provide a report on expenditures and on the impact of the project, and asked for confirmation of the continued involvement of Lennox and Addington and Hastings counties.

However, when the matter came before Council, the argument was made that Frontenac County should provide direct support to the FCFDC, and option 1 was proposed and voted on. The result was a 5-3 vote in favour.

Of the opposition votes, two were cast by South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal. Vandewal has two votes because he is the mayor of the largest township in the county - 18,000 of the approximately 27,000 residents live in South Frontenac.

During a break in the meeting Vandewal said that he did not vote against the motion because he doesn’t support the FCFDC.

“I support them and I voted that way because I think the county should look at contracting out economic development to the FCFDC. Our economic development officer is about to retire and rather than giving them a band-aid we should consider contracting out the service to them,” he said.

Later meeting, North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins put forward a notice of motion to suspend the hiring process for a new Economic Development Officer until a discussion can take place about the potential for contracting out the service.

CAO Kelly Pender said a short list of candidates have been developed but interviews have not yet begun to fill the position.

In order to have a discussion before the position is filled, a special was called for November 2nd to fully air the issue.

The purpose of the meeting is to “evaluate the position of the Manager of Economic Development and to discuss options for the implementation of the county’s Economic Development Strategy,” said a notice that was posted on the Frontenac County website this week.

Anne Marie Young is the current economic development officer for Frontenac County. She is retiring at the end of 2016. Her tenure in the post has been marked by efforts to complete the K&P Trail; an increased profile for the county in the Eastern Ontario region; and the recent branding initiative. She was the 2016 recipient of the Economic Developer of the Year award at the annual Ontario East Economic Development conference in August.  

New Planning Fees Proposed

Planner Lindsay Mills presented the committee a proposal for a revised fee structure for planning applications. The intent is to bring these fees more into line with the actual cost of processing applications for development-related services such as Zoning and Official Plan amendments, site plan agreements, etc. Council showed general acceptance of the proposal: it will come before next week’s Council meeting for official approval.

Fence Viewers: where are they when we need them??

Every new Council appoints three official Township “fence viewers”. South Frontenac’s current fence viewers were appointed in 2015. Their role is to resolve line fencing disputes between neighbours regarding who pays for what, and what kind of fencing material should be used. They do not resolve property boundary issues; those are the responsibility of the property owners. Lindsay Mills reported that he has had to call on the fence viewers’ services only three times in the past 13 years. Until recently. With a deadline of thirty days to resolve an evidently tense fence-related standoff in the Township, Mills is becoming desperate. Only one of the SF viewers has agreed to step up. Mills needs three. He has contacted all appointed viewers in Central and North Frontenac, but none of them are available. Mills said he has heard “the full range of excuses.” “Perhaps,” he suggested, “seventy-five dollars a day is no longer enough.” He suggested Council consider increasing compensation, and perhaps appointing a couple of staff members (without remuneration) to the office. Mayor Vandewal said it wasn’t healthy for staff to get involved in this sort of dispute between neighbours, and suggested that it might be more appropriate to use by-law officers for the job. There was general agreement around the table, but no specific direction to Mills concerning the current problem.

Public Works 2017 BudgetPublic Works Manager Segsworth presented the proposed 2017 budget for his department, under the headings of: Facilities ($1,287,512); Transportation ($970,000); Equipment Replacement ($538,500); Environmental Services ($145,000) and Roads and Bridges ($10,000,000). Nearly half of this last figure is earmarked for the Sunbury Road, which is an emergency detour route for the 401. It’s hoped that provincial or federal funding may be available to help with this project, though so far the Township grant applications have been unsuccessful. There was considerable discussion about ways Council might bring this issue more strongly to the attention of the upper levels of government.

Budgeting for the Next Steps of Organizational Review

Mayor Vandewal recommended not budgeting for the Clerk/CAO position split in the coming year, to give two new staff members (soon to be announced) time to settle in.

“These two positions should change the workload greatly.”

Councilor McDougall suggested setting aside a three or six-month budget line for the new Clerk position in 2017.

Councilor Schjerning said perhaps the Fire Prevention/Education Officer positioncould be moved up into next year’s budget. There was general agreement about going ahead to establish a Development Services Committee.

2017 budget discussions will be a primary feature of the November Council and Committee of the Whole meetings.

The old Train Whistle Blues haunt Central Frontenac Council

“In my 30 years on council, this is the first time anyone has brought the train whistle at Crow Lake to the township's attention,” said Mayor Frances Smith in the face of a request by Cecilia and Donald Lafleur of Anderson Road that the township explore the possibility of requesting CP Rail to stop its trains from whistling as they cross Crow Lake Road near Crow Lake Village.

Lafleur sent the township a copy of the petition he has been circulating among neighbours, along with a document that outlines the procedure that a municipality can follow for “eliminating whistling at public grade crossings”.

The document says that a municipal council can issue a public notice of its intention and then consult with the railroad operator to determine if a “cessation of whistling” can be accomplished within the regulations that govern safety at rail crossings. If that can be done, the township can pass a resolution banning the whistle, and the railroad would then have 30 days to provide for alternate safety measures, such as lights, bells and/or gates. Then the whistling would stop.

Deputy Mayor Bill MacDonald said the “first question here is, do we agree that the whistling should stop, and I don't agree that the whistling should stop.”

Other members of council were worried about the potential liability that could accrue to the township if there were an accident at the crossing after whistling had ceased.

“I wouldn't want to do anything that can create even the impression that safety was compromised,” said Councilor Jamie Riddell.

“The process is laid out in the document,” said Councilor Sherry Whan. “It really wouldn't be up to us.”

“The train has been whistling at that crossing for a long time,” said Councilor Brent Cameron.

Mayor Smith said that she did not know how often the train passes through the crossing and speculated that a staff member might be given the task of monitoring the crossing over a 36-hour period.

But it did not come to that, as Council, having exhausted the topic, voted to simply receive the correspondence from the Lafleurs without taking any action.

Icarus Power turned away

Perhaps it was an omen that the Oso hall, where Tuesday afternoon's Central Frontenac Council meeting took place, had lost power due to an isolated outage that hit only one block in Sharbot Lake.

Representatives from Icarus Power intended to ask for municipal support for five Micro-Fit solar projects in Hinchinbrooke District. However, since they were not listed as a delegation on the agenda for the meeting, Council had the option of hearing them or not. A vote to accept a delegation on the spot required a 2/3 majority vote.

Mayor Smith was about to call a vote on the matter, when Councilor Victor Heese interjected.

“I don't see how we can act on whatever they are going to request of us without a staff report,” he said. “I suggest they go to staff first and then we can hear the presentation once.”

A discussion ensued and eventually the vote to accept the delegation was defeated.

As they left the building, the representatives from Icarus said they were disappointed because the window for provincial approval for these small hydro generation projects opens on October 31, and the first projects that are submitted have an advantage over those that are submitted afterwards.

“Municipal support is very important,” one of them said, adding that although Icarus was late in approaching the township they did contact staff a week before the meeting. He said they had met with all the neighbours, who had signed petitions supporting the projects as well.

A number of Micro-Fit projects, proposed by Abundant Solar, were supported by motions of Council earlier this month.

“Cautiously optimistic” says McGovern about 'budget to actuals' for 2016

Treasurer Michael McGovern said that even though a lot of information is still coming in, he is optimistic that township spending in 2016 will fit within the confines of the township's budget for the year.

Treasure Trunk moving; asks township to place bin in parking lot.

The Treasure Trunk will be moving its not-for-profit used clothing, household items and furniture store out of Sharbot Lake to a new, larger location on Road 38 south of Sharbot Lake in late November. Janet Barr, the store manager, requested that the township allow a bin to be placed at the corner of its parking lot to hold donations. She said that the bin would be emptied on a daily basis.

The township approved the request and Mayor Smith said staff from the township and Community Living, the agency that runs the store, will work to make sure the location of the bin is appropriate.

Accessibility Advisory Committee

Janette Amini, the clerk and manager of Legislative Services for Frontenac County, made a presentation to Council about the activities of the Accessibility Advisory Committee of Frontenac County in 2016.

The committee, which includes Kurt Halliday as a citizen representative from Central Frontenac, along with Councilor Tom Dewey, has been involved in a county effort to obtain a grant for the development of an Age-Friendly Community Action Plan this year. They also provided input regarding changes to the county policy on customer service and other legislated requirements; and provided input and recommendations on public parks, chip trucks, accessible parking and boat ramps.

In Central Frontenac, the staff co-ordinator for accessibility, Donna Longmire, reported that accessibility played a role in the development of the library and fire hall in Parham, which was constructed level with the ground; in the installation of accessible playground equipment at the Parham fair grounds; and in the plans, as yet not acted upon, for an accessibility upgrade to the township office.