L&A looking for new location for Denbigh ambulance base

Reeve Henry Hogg told members of Addington Highland's Council that Lennox and Addington County will be initiating a search for a location for a new ambulance base in Denbigh.

“That's the best news we've heard about ambulance service in Denbigh from them,” said Councilor Kirby Thompson.

“Are they serious about this?” asked Councilor Tony Fritsch.

“The [L&A County] Council is supportive of this,” said Hogg.

A report from Lennox and Addington Chief of Emergency Services, Mark Schjerning, was presented to a working meeting of L&A County Council on October 12. The report talked about setting up a process to find suitable land for new ambulances bases in Stone Mills and Loyalist townships by hiring the same consulting firm that was used to purchase the property where the Northbrook ambulance was built in 2013.

When a member of L&A Council asked at the October 12 meeting about what was happening with the Denbigh base, which is in a rental space and requires an upgrade in order for continued service at that location to be viable, it resulted in an ad-hoc debate over the future of the Denbigh service.

A motion to close the Denbigh base and cut the 12-hour a day service was proposed, and defeated. A subsequent motion to add Denbigh to the list of communities listed in the Schjerning report was approved by L&A Council in a unanimous vote.

“I think we should take a role in this,” said Councilor Tony Fritsch.

“It needs to be a location on a provincial highway, because there needs to be 24-hour road clearing, so along Highway 41 or 28 is what we are looking for,” said Hogg.

Council passed a motion encouraging Denbigh residents to come forward with suitable properties. Council members will also be working the phones to find a location and forward it to the consultants.

“This is our best chance to secure ambulance service for Denbigh for the future,” said Hogg, “so we need to jump on it.”

More support for Abundant Solar FIT projects

Council provided support for four more ground mount solar projects that Abundant Solar is planning to submit to the Independent Electricity Service Operator (IESO) for consideration in the FIT5 procurement process.

The projects would all be located on leased private land. Two of them are located in Ward 2 (former township of Abinger) and two in Ward 1 (former township of Kaladar)

Changes coming at waste sites

A number of proposals for changes to the operating procedures and fees at township waste sites came out of an October 6 meeting of the Roads, Bridges and Waste Committee.

Among them was a proposal to control access to waste sites, which council approved and will take effect on March 31, 2017.

Another proposal was to limit the dumping of construction materials to a single yard (1' x 4' x 8'). All other construction materials will have to be dumped at commercial sites outside of the township.

Council also decided that the offer of one free clear bag of waste for every bin of recycling is too generous and will be changing the offer to one free clear bag for every two bins of recycling. Paper products, including cardboard and newsprint, will no longer be included in the exchange for free clear bags.

Finally, overall tipping fees are changing as well. In addition to limiting construction waste to one yard for a $15 fee, $30 will be charged for spring mattresses, sofas and chairs, appliances, and carpets.

HVAC issues at Northbrook Medical Centre

When the township took ownership of the medical center in Northbrook in order to establish a family health team, they also took on two oil furnaces, a propane furnace, and the requirement for space heaters in back offices on the east side of the building and in the pharmacy.

“The building has had numerous additions over the years, leading to a pretty inefficient and complicated heating and cooling system,” said Councilor Tony Fritsch.

Robert Bosley of Bosley Heating and Cooling met with Fritsch at the medical center to look at what was there and he sent a letter outlining three options for the township to consider.

Option 2, which Bosley described as the “proper way to correct the issues here and be done properly”, would be to remove everything that is there and install a fully engineered brand-new heating and cooling system with new ducts. The price for that is “in excess of $200,000.”

Option 1 is to put in smaller systems for the east side of the building and the pharmacy at a cost of $60,000.

Option 3 is to put in “ductless split heat pump units to the areas that need heat in winter and cooling in summer.” He said six of these units would be required at a price of $5,000 each.

“With this kind of expense, this will have to go to our 2017 budget deliberations,” said Councilor Bill Cox.

Tony Fristch said that the two worst locations, the pharmacy and the east corner, need to be addressed more quickly.

“I don't know how they work there,” said Fritsch. “I think we need to deal with those right away. I propose we buy two of these units, for $10,000 and see how they work, and look at the rest of it for the budget.

Council agreed and passed a motion allocating $10,000 from reserves.

Meeting times to change

Reeve Hogg presented a Notice of Motion, to be dealt with on November 7, to change the meeting time for the second council meeting of the month, which is held in Denbigh, to 1 pm from the current time of 7 pm. This change would be in place from November until March, to cut down on long night drives during the winter months for staff who live away from the township.

Harrowsmith Community Improvement Plan

Council passed two by-laws necessary to formally approve the Harrowsmith Community Improvement Plan (CIP).

Residents of Verona, Sharbot Lake and North Frontenac will already be familiar with CIPs, which make it possible for the County to provide financial assistance in the form of grants and loans for property improvement projects. A maximum of $70,000 will be available over the course of four years. During this time, the township roads department will be redesigning the “scramble intersection” in the middle of the village to improve both pedestrian and vehicle safety. A full copy of the detailed plan is available on the township's website.

Solar Projects Supported

Council agreed to support 15 proposed small solar projects under the FIT5.0 program. These would be located on: Wolfe Lake Rd, Buck Bay Rd, Wallace Road, Davidson Side Rd, Sands Rd, Round Lake Rd, Henderson Rd and Peters Rd.

Accounting for Carbon Tax Money

Deputy Mayor Sutherland brought notice of motion that: a) a portion of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Account money collected under the provincial cap & trade program be allocated to each municipal council, according to their population, to be spent on new carbon reduction initiatives; and that

b) the provincial government be asked for an accounting of how that money is spent in each municipality. Councillor McDougall said he agreed, based on his sense that a disproportionate amount of money raised in province-wide programs like this gets channeled to large municipalities. The motion passed.

MNRF and Johnston Point

(Note: Johnston Point is a recently approved subdivision on the north-east shore of Loughborough Lake) Emphasizing that he intends no criticism of the MNRF (Ministry of Natural Resources and Fisheries), Deputy Mayor Sutherland brought a motion directing the township to write to the MNRF to ask that species at risk habitat be preserved, rather than be destroyed in a trade-off, and that the township (and the Battersea-Loughborough Lake Association) be kept informed of any ongoing negotiations between the developer and the MNFR. Sutherland noted that the township is responsible, once the development is completed, for making sure the site plan requirements have all been met.

Councillor McDougall said he was uncomfortable with the term ‘trade-off’, but no satisfactory alternative could be agreed upon. The motion passed.

Industrial Storage Yard: Site Plan The Council agreed to enter into a site plan for a proposed industrial storage yard on Lambert Road.

Bedford Road Rehabilitation Public Works Manager Segsworth asked Council’s endorsement of the Bedford Road rehabilitation project as the township’s submission for Ontario infrastructure top-up funding. This funding is targeted toward projects with a strong health and safety component. The township has budgeted $1 million toward rebuilding Bedford Road from the Sydenham dam to Alton Road. Currently this is a narrow, heavily used strip of road with no safe space for pedestrians or cyclists. Plans are to run Bell and Hydro underground, and construct storm sewers, sidewalks and a bicycle path.

After a brief discussion, Council agreed to apply for 90% of eligible costs, which is the maximum allowable.

Humane Society Contract Renewed

Council agreed to a three-year renewal of their contract with the Kingston Humane Society for the provision of pound services, at a 5% per year rate increase. This increase is estimated, based on the last 18 months of service, to amount to approximately $175 per year.

North Frontenac Official Plan

Planner Joe Gallivan appeared before North Frontenac Council last week in preparation for submitting a draft revised township Official Plan in November.

Gallivan is the Manager of Planning for Frontenac County and was the author of the Frontenac County Official Plan, which forms the backdrop for the township plan. He told council about a number of details he is planning to include in the plan when he submits it to the township next month.

One of them was a proposal to remove the “hamlet” designation for a number of former communities in the township that no longer exist.

“There are restrictions in hamlets that do not apply in a rural zone, and there is no reason for those restrictions in places such as Donaldson, Canonto or Wilbur,” he said.

The township currently has 13 hamlets designated in its Official Plan (Myers Cave, Harlowe, Plevna, Fernleigh, Ardoch, Coxvale, Ompah, Snow Road Station, Mississippi Station, Robertsville, Canonto, Donaldson, Wilbur, Cloyne)

The more contentious issue raised by Gallivan had to do with setting out minimum lot size and minimum frontages for new waterfront lots. Back in September, Reid Shepherd, appearing for Gallivan, talked to Council about whether minimum lot sizes and frontages should be included in Official Plans at all.

The opinion of Council at the time was that all of the detail should stay out of the Official Plan, which is more of a background document, and should be included only in the comprehensive zoning bylaw, which will be worked on as soon as the work is done on the Official Plan.

Gallivan said that “the plan should set a general standard then provide the tools to give the flexibility to realize that every waterfront lot is different.”

Gallivan's recommendation is that the Official Plan include a general minimum lot size of “2 acres (0.8 hectares) and include no absolute number for water frontage.”

He said that in addition to that wording he will include clear language on the issues that need to be considered when lots are being created on the water, such as setbacks, septic system placement, vegetative buffers, etc.

Mayor Higgins was sceptical.

“To me, that only needs to be in the zoning bylaw” he said.

“My opinion is that your lakes are so important that you need something on a policy level that sets out the over-riding direction in terms of development,” Gallivan said.

“By putting it in the Official Plan, we are putting the onus on the developer to change the Official Plan,” said Councilor Denis Bedard.

“The language will be clear and it will not require an Official Plan amendment to create a lot. You will see what I mean when I present the document in a couple of weeks,” said Gallivan.

“Do other townships have minimum lot sizes in their OPs?” asked Councilor John Inglis.

“Yes, they have hard numbers,” said Gallivan.

In fact, both Central and South Frontenac, along with a number of other townships, have a minimum lot size of 1 hectare and 300 feet of shoreline.

Gallivan said that his contention is that those numbers do not need to be included in North Frontenac's Official Plan as they are not called for in the Provincial Policy Statement, the root document for all planning matters in Ontario.

Gallivan said he would have the plan to the township in a few weeks, in time for it to be considered by Council on November 25 and presented to a public open house on the same day.

Final Approval of the plan is set for December 16, if all goes as planned. It will need to go to Frontenac County for final approval after that, a process that will not likely take more than one month.

Council says no to Solar Panel Micro FIT proposal

Abundant Solar has been going around the region from council meeting to council meeting on behalf of solar projects, ahead of an application window that opens at the end of October. Township councils have the opportunity to support projects within their jurisdiction, which will provide a boost to them. The projects are much smaller than those captured in the Large Renewable Procurement process, which included wind turbine projects and was so controversial in North Frontenac. They take up between 3 and 5 acres and are required to be blocked from view through vegetative plantings or berms and rarely cause much controversy among neighbours.

Still, North Frontenac Council, led by Mayor Higgins, raised questions of Tyson Champagne, who was representing Abundant Solar

“I think that we need to send a message to the provincial government about the Green Energy Act. It is no fault of yours,” Higgins said to the Abundant Solar rep, “but the entire system of producing power that is not required at above the market price needs to be questioned.”

“At least in the case of solar the price is clear, all the risk goes to the developer. In the case of nuclear power, which is 60% of the market, there are infrastructure costs above the price that are hidden to the consumer,” said Champagne.

Other members of Council asked more questions and expressed their opposition to provincial energy policy.

“I think, unlike others here, I am concerned about global warming,” said Councilor John Inglis. “I request a recorded vote on this.”

“I know about global warming,” said Councilor Wayne Good, “but that does not mean we should support the Green Energy Act.”

In a 6-1 vote, the township voted not to support the project.

Afterwards Champagne said it is unclear whether the vote will have an impact on the bid. “In the last go-around, half of the proposals were accepted and half were rejected. Some of those that were accepted were located in places that had not supported them. So it's hard to say what the deciding factor is, especially since the price paid for the power is the same in all cases under the Micro FIT process.”

Central Frontenac to hire full-time fire chief

After receiving a consultant's report on the operations of the township fire department last month, Central Frontenac decided to move on two of the key recommendations at their meeting on Tuesday afternoon, October 11.

The first was to manage all IT functions of the fire department, including software, at the township office instead of within the fire station

The second proposal they acted on was to hire a full-time chief. This was also accepted by Council with little debate. The only question raised was over a third recommendation, to turn the two-day a week admin support position at the township office into a full-time position.

“Could we just hire the fire chief and let them tell us what we should do about admin support? The thinking is that it is easier to add a position than to take it away,” said Councilor Victor Heese.

Donna Longmire, who provides admin support to the fire department as part of her job in the admin team, and who also happens to take minutes at council meetings, was asked to comment.

“I do work that Bill [current fire chief Bill Young] asks me to do when he comes into the office, but if the fire chief was in working 35 hours instead of 16, I expect they might do a lot of that work. But really I don't know what is going to happen with a full-time chief,” she said.

Council approved the new hire and passed the matter over to the hiring committee to oversee the process.

Building report: another million dollar month

Building permits for $1.14 million in construction were taken out in Central Frontenac in September, almost double the amount in 2015 and five times the amount in 2014. That brings the yearly total to $6.4 million so far this year, up from $5.6 million at the same time last year.

Chief Building Official Jeremy Neven said that judging from the pile on his desk, October will be another good month. Permits for three new residential units were taken out last month, for a total of 13 this year.

Property Standards bylaw coming to Frontenac

CBO Neven reported that the Ministry of Municipal Affairs will no longer be providing inspection services for rental properties under the Residential Tenancies Act, as of July 1, 2018.

Neven said this will not be a financial hit to the township because it pays the ministry for this service and can contract the service to Frontenac Bylaw Enforcement, the company that enforces all township bylaws including the township's Safe Properties Bylaw, which covers the exterior of township homes and the surrounding properties.

However, the change will have legislative implications for the township. While more than half the municipalities in Ontario have property standards bylaws in place, Central Frontenac, along with both North and South Frontenac, does not.

The Central Frontenac Safe Properties Bylaw contains many elements that are commonly found in property standards bylaws.

In announcing it is getting out of the enforcement business, the ministry recommended two options for townships in the position that Central Frontenac finds itself.

They could simply enforce the standards that the ministry enforces now, or they can enact a property standards bylaw and bring external and internal standards into one bylaw. The advantage of this option is that it allows for a locally run appeals process.

Neven recommends that Central Frontenac rescind its Safe Properties Bylaw and enact a single property standards bylaw. He also said that since he is also the CBO for North Frontenac and the acting CBO for South Frontenac, he will be recommending that all three townships work together to see if a single bylaw can be enacted.

“I know what people say about property standards bylaws. For the record let me say this: I hate government, and I don't like the idea of government or anyone enforcing aesthetic standards on property owners. But we do have the opportunity of designing our own standards and making them reasonable for our residents while making sure our buildings are safe,” he said.

Members of Council were split on the matter. While Deputy Mayor Bill MacDonald said, “I don't see a choice”, Councilor Brent Cameron said he preferred to keep things as they are as much as possible, a position that was shared by Councilor Jamie Riddell.

For her part, Mayor Frances Smith was not ready for the municipality to take on more of a role dealing with issues that are often centered on disputes between neighbors, as enforcement of bylaws of this sort are only triggered by complaints.

“I don't think we should give up on the province providing this service, because if it becomes local the number of complaints will only go up. We need to keep lobbying.”

Six Feed-in-Tariff solar projects receive municipal support

With the intake period for FIT (Feed-In-Tariff) coming up at the end of October, six projects from two different companies – Abundant Solar and the Wintergreen Co-op in association with Soventix Corporation - were presented to council hoping for a motion of municipal support.

Four of the projects are 250 kw projects, and the other two are 500 kw projects. If built, the 250 watt projects will take up three acres, and the 500 watt ones about five acres. The ground-mounted solar fields would all be located within relatively large two to three hundred acre properties and would be set back from neighbors. Provincial guidelines also require that they are hidden from view by berms of plantings.

Councilor Victor Heese asked if the proponents have informed or consulted with neighbors, and Rob Hitchcock of Abundant Solar said that the small FIT programs, unlike the larger LRP (Large Renewal Procurement) projects, do not require consultation.

“But really, there is no impact on neighbours from these,” he said.

“But you could consult even though you don't have to,” said Heese, and Hitchcock agreed.

Brent Cameron said the township should establish a policy insisting on consultation before it grants municipal support.

“I will support these because there isn't much time, but we should do something in the future so companies know they must consult to get our support,” Cameron said.

The motion of support was approved, although Councilor Heese voted against it. The proponents will find out if their projects have been approved in the coming months.

Deputy Mayor Bill MacDonald said he recently was part of a phone call with Premier Kathleen Wynne as part of his role with the Provincial Liberal Party (he was twice a candidate in Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington) and he asked if the FIT program is on the chopping block in the wake of the cancellation of the LRP program last month.

“She said it was not, and I expect we will see hundreds and hundreds of these small projects now that the large ones are not happening,” he said.

Heat to be pulled from Hinchinbrooke School

Council followed the recommendation of Jeremy Neven to disconnect the water in the former Hinchinbrooke school in order to avoid having to put new heating tanks in. The cost will be $500 to $2,000 but will be more than offset by the savings in fuel oil. He described the risk of the building heaving and damaging its foundation as the result of frost as minimal.

Fermoy Hall request well received

Donna Garland appeared before the committee on behalf of a group of Fermoy Hall supporters who have been meeting this summer to talk about bringing the hall back into use.

The Fermoy Hall is located at the top of Fermoy Hill on Westport Road, just west of the point where the road hugs Wolfe Lake, one of the most picturesque, and potentially dangerous stretches of road in the entire township.

The hall was built 150 years ago in 1866, making it one of, if not the oldest public building in the township. It has been used as a council chamber, an Orange Lodge meeting place, and for dances and other purposes over the years. At one time Fermoy was a town with two stores, a post office, a hotel, a blacksmith and a sawmill but now it is a small collection of houses on four corners.

The hall has been renovated on the outside and money was set aside last year by the township to upgrade the inside.

As Garland pointed out to Council, the operating principle of the group that has been meeting is the MVP Principle, which stands for Minimum investment for Value testing a Product.

As such the group is asking that the township invest $15,000 to $20,000 of the $30,000 that has been set aside. Garland said the money would be used for “required changes to make the hall presentable and usable”. It includes some electrical work to install safe and working lights, patching holes in ceiling and walls, painting the interior, finishing the bare wood floor, installing and servicing two accessible port-a-potties, Internet and Wi-Fi, tables and chairs, and a facility sign.

The intention is to make the hall available in May of 2017 and see if it gets used as a meeting hall, for classes, musical events, etc.

Garland said that she is interested in doing some digital coaching in the hall. As well, someone else has been talking about fitness classes; lake associations would like a place to hold meetings, etc.

Mayor Vandewal said he “would like to congratulate all those who brought a realistic approach to using the hall. If you can bring it back to usable state I have no problem with it. I commend you for coming with this approach.”

Councilor Pat Barr, who represents Bedford District and has been working with the group, said, “Thank you Mayor, it's great to know we are getting along. As you say, the estimates are reasonable and hopefully this will get people coming to Fermoy.”

FIT, FIT and maybe FIT

Rob Hitchcock from Abundant Solar, David Hahn from the Wintergreen Co-op and Vincent Malik from Solar Providor Group all came to council seeking municipal support for multiple Feed-in-Tariff projects in the township.

While few questions were asked of Abundant Solar or the Wintergreen Co-op, Vincent Malik was given a bit of a rougher ride. That is partly because one of the projects he is proposing, located on Rutledge Road at Sydenham Road, was the only one of 17 that came forward for the last FIT intake a year ago that was not supported by the township. That was because some neighbouring property owners were concerned about setbacks. As Malik explained, in most cases Solar Providor is seeking to build two 250 kilowatt projects on single properties because there is only capacity for 250 kw hookups to adjacent hydro lines, but the sites are large enough for 500 kw projects, which take up about five acres each.

Council was concerned about setbacks for all the Solar Providor projects, which are located in more populated areas of the township than the other proposals. A number of suggestions were made by Council for assurances that Malik could incorporate into the proposals to help council look favorably on his requests, including limiting the Rutledge Road Project to 250 kw. He said he will make the changes.

All of the proposals will come before Council next week.

Capital budget for administration, recreation and fire department

Treasurer Louise Fragnito brought forward budget requests from the fire and admin departments and the Central Recreation Committee.

These include requests for a pickup for the building department, and a 1/2 ton and a pumper for the fire department, all of which would come from vehicle replacement reserve funds that are in place. The fire department is also asking for $35,000 for new bunker gear and a wash station for Station 8, and $60,000 for pagers and gear for 30 new recruits.

Under Recreation there are 13 requests of various sizes, from $5,000 for new swings at Tett Park to $500,000 for a major upgrade to the Storrington Hall. There is a request for $155,000 for more work at the Point Park, including an accessible pathway, washroom and building upgrades, a tennis court and more. There is also a $50,000 request to purchase land adjacent to Centennial Park in Harrowsmith.

Council did not cut or trim any projects at this point. However, if they accept all the requests the total cost would be $1,065,000 for these projects alone, which would help push the whole capital budget to $10,790,000. The target for the budget is $9,500,000.

“That's only a million and a quarter over,” said Mayor Vandewal, “a bit more than a 1% increase. However it's only a number at this point.”

Council will be receiving various pieces of the budget over the next few weeks and will be debating the entire package in November.

Council balks at Campground Proposal

The owner of Skycroft, a 65-site campground on Opinicon Lake in the north-eastern corner of South Frontenac (Bedford District) is seeking re-zoning in order to build a new campground on a lot that borders his existing campground.

The proposal calls for 170 sites on the new property, some of which would be in-ground so-called “cave houses with circular entrances that resemble hobbit houses”, and the rest trailer sites.

In his report on the-rezoning application, township planner Lindsay Mills said that all campgrounds in South Frontenac have their own specific zoning and a site plan that specifies in detail the number and size of the sites.

“For a proposal of this size, the septic approval is done by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change and will require an engineering report on sewage treatment that satisfies the ministry. It is expected that the ministry approval will determine the number of lots that are permitted.”

Mills said that it will be important for the township to ensure that the new campground is completely distinct from the existing one in order to give it approval.

“This needs to be a new development unconnected to Skycroft. It is feasible that some of the usage of the new lot will access the lake. We have to be very sure that this is a completely separate business in order to approve the zoning. At this point I would recommend that we receive this report but take no position on approving it until we hear comment from the MoE and the conservation authority,” he said.

One by one, council members said they did not believe that those who use the new campground would not have access to the docking facilities and beach at Skycroft.

“I think it would be very naive to think that the two are in fact gong to be distinct,” said Councilor Mark Schjerning.

Deputy Mayor Sutherland said the township should seek legal advice.

“I would like to know if we can legally say we are looking at this one waterfront campground and refuse it entirely on those grounds. I'd like us to look at that,” said Sutherland.

Chief Administrative Officer Wayne Orr said staff would take that request as a directive from Council.

Neighbouring property owners were out in full force, expressing similar concerns as members of Council.

Many of them said their families have been using their Opinicon Lake properties for generation and always had good relations with the original owners of the campground and with David Hillhorst, the current owner as well, but the expansion would change the character of the landscape and the lake itself.

One of the added wrinkles to the situation is that the existing and proposed campgrounds abut land that is owned by Queen's University and used as a biological research station.

Skycroft operates some campsites on the Queen's property under an agreement with the university. Queen's Professor Steve Lougheed spoke at the meeting. He said the Queen's property was originally owned by the former owners of Skycroft. They built trails on the property and eventually donated it to Queen's as a research station.

“We have maintained an excellent working relationship with David, and residents of his campsites use our trails under an agreement with us.”

For his part, Hilhorst said he has always run a family campground, and “I have made the road and my beach and docks available to all the neighbors at no charge. I don't plan to cut trees or change the land when I build, just to create a rustic environment and expand my business to accommodate the demand I see in the market.”

The matter will come back to council in the coming months.

Harrowsmith Community Improvement Plan

The plan, which was discussed by Council at a Committee of the Whole meeting on September 27, was the subject of a public meeting, and received minimal comment. It will proceed to the Official Plan amendment stage under the expectation that it will be approved in short order. Businesses and residents in Harrowsmith will be eligible for grants and loans for projects aimed at creating a more attractive retail environment. The plan comes at a time of change in Harrowsmith, as road work to improve traffic flow and bring more visibility to the trail-head at the foot of the village is scheduled for next year as well.

Injunction sought to prohibit unlicensed events at Vezeau property on Sydenham Lake

Council passed a motion authorizing staff to seek a court injunction prohibiting unsanctioned events from taking place at the Vezeau property, the home of the Canadian Guitar Festival. While the guitar festival has been sanctioned by the township every year and the township noise bylaw has been suspended for the weekend-long event, other events at the property have not been sanctioned but have been held anyway. While the motion does not refer specifically to the guitar festival, Council indicated at Committee of the Whole that they are not likely to be willing to sanction even that event because the property owner has defied their bylaws at other times.

Road Rally to work in conjunction with Parks Canada Rideau Canal celebration.

The Harrowsmith Social & Athletic Club is taking the lead in organizing a road rally throughout the township in September next year to mark Canada's 150th anniversary. The club will be working with recreation committees and South Frontenac Cycles to get the event up and running. Parks Canada has contacted the township to say they are planning a musical event at around the same time and want to include the section of the canal that runs through the township in their planning, and the road rally organizers would like to co-ordinate efforts so the two events may be able to work together. Upper Brewers Lock on Canal Road is the proposed location for a concert as part of the festivities.  

Township to remove gates

Royce Rosenblath, the Roads and Waste Management supervisor for Addington Highlands, spoke to Council on Monday about the ongoing issue of property owners putting locked gates up across public access points on their properties.

“One time I did know what to do and now I don't,” Rosenblath said, explaining that with hunting season fast approaching there could be access issues and complaints to the township.

“The land is locked if they can't get into it,” Councilor Helen Yanch said.

Rosenblath explained that it's pretty common, especially when a property changes ownership, for people to gate up roads that allow access to their property.

“I don't think we can have land that's locked if there are taxpayers back there,” Councilor Kirby Thompson said.

“We can do what we've always done,” Rosenblath said. “Pull the gates down and leave them at the shed and let these people come to council. I've done it lots of times.”

Council voted to send letters out asking property owners to remove gates from specific locations they are aware of, or else the township would be taking them down before hunting season begins in two weeks.

Council approves small solar project for Flinton

Rob Hitchcock, a representative from Abundant Solar Energy Inc., made a request to Council on Monday for support for a 3-acre, 250kW solar project located just off Flinton Road.

“Have you done soil tests yet for that site?” Councilor Bill Cox asked. “That's just sand there.”

Hitchcock explained that they are able to construct the projects in sandy locations and that it wasn't a concern for this particular project.

Councilor Cox made a motion to approve the project and it was passed.

Clement Street drainage

Royce Rosenblath explained two possible solutions to Council for alleviating drainage issues on Clement Street in Flinton.

One option was to build a swale, or ditch, near the problem area in hopes that it would encourage runoff of the water. Rosenblath was concerned that this might solve the issue in one area but make it worse elsewhere.

The second option, albeit more expensive one, would be to install a storm sewer, which Rosenblath told Council could cost up to $900,000 per km.

Council opted to pay closer attention to the problem area and to do more preventative maintenance, such as snowplowing, in hopes of alleviating the problem as much as possible.

Frontenac County Council has approved a staff plan to take $300,000 from a reserve fund geared at helping low-income residents remain in their homes, and use it to purchase land that is required to complete the K&P Trail.

Some of the money will be used to buy land for the stretch of trail that runs from Tichborne to Sharbot Lake, and some for a lot in Verona that has been earmarked as a parking lot/trailhead.

The remaining $100,000 is to remain in the reserve fund “pending finalisation of the K&P Trail land acquisition project and the Verona Trail Head Project” according to a report from Treasurer Marian Vanbruinessen and CAO Kelly Pender.

Pender explained to Council, at their meeting in Glenburnie on September 21 that the reserve fund was created in 2014 to buffer against the possibility that the Province of Ontario was going to pull its funding for the Kingston/Frontenac Renovates program. That program provides grants of up to $3,500 and forgivable loans of up to $10,000 to low-income homeowners in Kingston and Frontenac County to pay for major repairs. It has been more widely accessed in Frontenac County than in Kingston over the years. Since that reserve was created, using county tax dollars from 2014, the province has renewed its commitment to fund Kingston Frontenac Renovates until 2019.

In his report, Pender said that three things may happen at that time: the province may continue to fund the program; the province may pull out and the program will end; or the province may pull out and the City and County may step in to fund it themselves.

Under that third option, the County would then have to seek more money from taxation.

“There is some urgency here,” Pender said of the need to find money for land purchases. “We have made offers to purchase which will come through in the near future and we have no money set aside to cover all those offers when they come through.”

The K&P trail has been a central project for the Frontenac County Economic Development Department, and has been identified as the county legacy project for Canada 150 next year. The trail links the Cataraqui Trail in South Frontenac with the Trans-Canada Trail in Shabot Lake. It was created by using the track bed from the former K&P Rail line, which Frontenac County purchased several years ago from its previous owner, Bell Canada.

The trail is complete from the southern border of Frontenac County until the CP rail crossing at Tichborne. The next eight kilometres of former track bed has been sold off to over 20 adjacent landowners and the county has been in negotiation with those landowners, seeking to secure the entire length in time for work to commence in the spring of 2017. The goal is to have the Kingston to Sharbot Lake trail completed by next summer.

Some members of Frontenac County Council were sceptical about diverting money from Kingston Frontenac Renovates to the trail.

Councilor Natalie Nossal, from Frontenac Islands, said, “I'm sorry but that is $400,000 that the county set aside to fill a void that did not transpire, not for this purpose.”

Councilor John McDougall, from South Frontenac, is the county rep on the Housing and Homelessness Committee for Kingston and Frontenac.

“Kingston Frontenac Renovates has never been discussed as something that might lose its provincial funding. As far as anyone knows the funding is solid. I think this money could be used for the trail. I think it is a good idea,” he said.

Earlier in the meeting, the council received a presentation by Sheldon Laidman, Manager for Housing from the City of Kingston, whose department handles money transfers from the Province of Ontario for Loughborough Not-for-Profit Housing in Sydenham; McMullen Manor in Verona; and North Frontenac Not-For-Profit Housing in Sharbot Lake, representing a total of over 100 units of social housing.

Laidman said that the province is pulling out of its financial support for those and all other social housing units in Ontario over the next 10 years, and the county should start thinking about how it will continue to support those properties, as it will still be obligated to offer discounted rent-geared-to income for low-income families and seniors.

With that earlier, sobering presentation in mind, Mayor of Frontenac Islands Denis Doyle said, “Putting that money into a fund for our future rent-geared-to-income commitments is closer to the intention for the money than this is.”

“That money was not collected for trails,” said North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins.

County Warden and Central Frontenac Mayor, Frances Smith said, “We have made commitments for purchases and we have money available that we do not need now, and may not need in the future. Whatever we do, we have to pay for the trail now and for our social housing commitments as well,” she said.

Smith then asked Anne Marie Young, the Manager for Economic Development for Frontenac County, “How did your spending on these properties go beyond what you had available?”

Young replied that $80,000 had been set aside for the land purchases, “which is about half of what was needed, at a minimum.

In the end the transfer from reserves was approved, with both representatives from Frontenac Islands and Mayor Higgins from North Frontenac voting against it.

(Yup, there is an editorial about this one – see page 2)

Harrowsmith Community Improvement Plan

Anne-Marie Young, Frontenac County manager of Economic Development, presented the details of the proposed Harrowsmith Village Community Improvement Plan, which came about after community consultations.

The township will be looking at major changes to Harrowsmith junction next year, which could help deal with safety issues and also help promote the trailhead at the foot of the village.

The Community Improvement Plan includes the following vision statement for the community:

“Harrowsmith will continue to build upon its strengths as an active and engaged community that has pride in its sense of community. As a group it values community safety, the importance of schools, recreation and businesses, active transportation and projecting a welcoming image for travelers. The village will continue to provide the day-to-day needs of residents and visitors. Improvements to the main north-south and east-west corridors will improve safety for pedestrians. Private property owners will be encouraged to maintain and improve the visual appearance of buildings and properties to support the development of a unique character for the community.”

The plan itself is a mix of grants and loans for facade improvements and other upgrades, including accessibility upgrades.

The county will make $70,000 available to the township to fund the program. The Harrowsmith CIP is the fifth one in Frontenac County. The first one was in Verona. That was followed by Marysville on Wolfe Island, Sharbot Lake, and the entire Township of North Frontenac.

A Public Meeting on the plan is set for October 4.

Council takes a hard line on Veseau property

Del Veseau hosts the popular Canadian Guitar Festival each summer on his property on Loughborough Lake south of Sydenham. The township has granted an exemption from its noise bylaw each year.

But as Planner Lindsay Mills said in a report to the committee, Veseau has also held unsanctioned events.

“These include one last year where he asked for an exemption and the township did not grant it, and he held the event anyway. After a complaint was registered with the by-law officer he was charged and will be going to court in October for a preliminary hearing in front of a Justice of the Peace,” said Mills. “And two weeks ago on September 10 he held another event and neighbours complained about the noise.”

Mills added that at one point in the past he had recommended that Veseau seek a zoning change, which would have permitted him to hold multiple events.

“I prepared a site plan that would have regulated what he could and could not do, but he never followed through with any of it,” said Mills.

Mills presented three options for consideration: continue to sanction one event per year and charge Veseau for any others; refuse to sanction any more events and charge him for any event he holds; or approve re-zoning the land to permit more events.

Mills also said the township could seek an injunction in civil court, and if one was granted then Veseau could face criminal charges for contempt of court if he held an event.

“He could even end up in jail in that case, although that is unlikely,” said Mills.

“I think we should proceed to civil court and take whatever action is appropriate. This gentleman thumbs his nose at the township” said Councilor Ron Sleeth.

“I completely agree even though I think the guitar festival is a great event for the township and its profile,” said Councilor John McDougall.

“I also agree we need to seek an injunction,” said Councilor Alan Revill.

The matter will come back to Council for a final decision on a course of action.

Recreation Survey

A survey conducted by the recreation department was filled out by 697 residents over the spring and summer. The results will be used as one of the inputs to the process of developing a five-year recreation plan, and to inform decisions about capital and operating budgets.

OPP checks in

Staff Sergeant Sharron Brown, Detachment Commander for the OPP Frontenac Detachment, which has overseen the satellite detachment in Sharbot Lake since April 1, 2015, paid a visit to a meeting of Central Frontenac Council that was held at the Piccadilly Hall on Tuesday afternoon, September 27.

She apologised for not bringing information to the township more often, and encouraged the township to set up a Community Policing Advisory Council in order to facilitate more collaboration and information flow between the local police and the township.

She also presented two different sets of information, one concerning crime rates and other statistics over the last year and one about the complicated job of keeping the Sharbot Lake detachment at adequate levels of staffing.

The detachment, which provides service to both Central and North Frontenac, requires a staff complement of nine officers to be fully operational, and with transfers and promotions it has been difficult to get to that level over the last year or so.

Staff Sgt. Brown said that the complement now stands at seven, and two new recruits will be coming after they graduate on February 1, 2017. In the meantime officers from the Frontenac Detachment fill in when necessary.

In terms of crime rates, the numbers do not show a great amount of deviation over the last three years or so.

The most common crimes that the OPP investigate in the township are assaults, break and enters, and thefts.

In terms of traffic charges, there are four categories that are common: speeding, seat belt violations, impaired, and distracted driving. The most common by far is speeding.

Of the data that she provided, she said some of it is “hampered by the fact that I cannot separate out Central Frontenac from North Frontenac and Highway 7.”

Deputy Mayor Bill MacDonald asked if, since South Frontenac has a formal contract with the OPP but Central and North Frontenac only use what is known as “status quo” policing, “would it be a good idea to negotiate a county-wide policing contract?”

“My short answer is to go for it if you want to,” said Brown, but she then said, “From my point of view there is very little difference between the two models any more except for the existence of a police board instead of a policing committee, and any enhancements that a municipality chooses to pay for.”

Until 2012, South Frontenac paid for a community officer as part of its contract, but that position was eliminated when policing costs went up dramatically. Currently there are no enhancements in the South Frontenac contract.

Councilor Victor Heese asked if, since North Frontenac already has a community policing committee in place, “could Central Frontenac combine with them instead of setting up a stand-alone committee?”

“The Policing Act allows for that option,” said Brown.

After she left, Council passed a motion asking staff to bring back options for a new committee.

Councilor Jamie Riddell said that instead of putting two members of council on the committee, it might be best to have one member of council and the fire chief or deputy fire chief.

A report will come to the next meeting on October 11.

Abundant Solar comes calling

Rob Hitchcock, from Abundant Solar, came looking for a motion of support for two 3-acre solar projects it is planning to launch bids for under the Feed-in-Tariff program of the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) of Ontario. The sites are located near the Henderson Road mid-way between Kennebec Lake and the hamlet of Henderson. Township will look to a staff report before considering the applications.

An application by the Wintergreen Co-op will be dealt with in the same manner.