VCA comes calling

Wayne Conway of the Verona Community Association (VCA) appeared before the monthly meeting of Frontenac County Council last week (June 15). He was looking for support for a new electronic sign project in Verona.

The sign, which will be used to promote community events and public service information from the Township of South Frontenac and the County, will be located at the same location as the existing VCA sign at the corner of Road 38 and Burnett Street.

The VCA has raised $30,000 to purchase the sign; the Verona Lions Club has committed $2,500 for the installation; and the Township of South Frontenac has agreed to pay the ongoing power bill to keep the sign shining.

Conway was looking to Frontenac County to cover the $1,000 (approximate) one-time cost of installing power to the sign.

Conway pointed out that the location of the sign in Verona is central to residents of Frontenac County who travel to Central and North Frontenac, as well as residents of South Frontenac.

“The county would be interested in using this sign to promote their events as well. Notices may include information relative to public awareness; warning messages such as severe weather recovery; unforeseen disaster circumstances; K&P Trail information; county events; plowing match; Open Doors; special celebrations, etc. ,” he said.

Council received Conway's presentation and will consider the proposal.

Comprehensive Private Lane Study

One of the key elements in the development of Frontenac County's first ever Official Plan was a concession by the Province of Ontario over further development of residential properties on privately owned lanes.

As a matter of policy, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing had been insisting that all new building lot development be restricted to roadways that either become township roads (through a plan of subdivision process) or form part of a vacant land 'plan of condominium', wherein a corporation made up of adjacent landowners is responsible for their maintenance.

Both of those options are expensive and would hinder the ability of existing county residents to create small numbers of new lots, one or two at a time, and bring new construction and new people into the townships.

Joe Gallivan, Director of Planning and Economic Development Services for Frontenac County, promised the Ministry of Municipal Affairs that if the ministry was willing to temper its demand that private lane development be banned, the county would undertake a study of the issue with a view towards creating a set of rules that satisfy the underlying concerns of the province.

The main concern has to do with ensuring that the roads are up to a reasonable standard and that emergency personnel – ambulance, fire and police – can get through when necessary.

A study was commissioned to look at the existing private roads in the county, and make recommendations for future development.

Brian Whitehead, of Jp2g Consulting of Pembroke, prepared a comprehensive report on the matter, which included an inventory of all the private lanes in the county, and looked at which of them are candidates for further development.

The study concluded that only 15% of existing private lanes have the potential for further development and recommends that only up to three new lots should be added to those lanes.

It also recommends that lanes that are or are likely to be used for permanent year-round residential use should not be privately owned.

Whitehead said that while the inventory shows that there should be only limited increase in development on existing private lanes, once the measures are adopted there will be potential for the development of new private lanes in remote areas of the county where there is still waterfront available for development.

In receiving the report, members of council noted that it represents a major effort on the part of the consultant and Joe Gallivan.

“I think we have persisted in our efforts, and by working with the ministry but not backing down to them, we have saved ourselves the expense of an OMB hearing on our Official Plan, which would have been expensive and might not have yielded a good result. This way we have served our residents' interests while satisfying the ministry. I think we have Joe, and Brian, to thank for this,” said Frontenac Islands Mayor Dennis Doyle, who was serving as Warden when the County Official Plan was being finalised.

Planning Advisory Committee formed

Council dealt with the deferred matter of forming a planning advisory committee, the makeup of which was a contentious issue at their meeting in May. One of the changes made to the original proposal was to soften the requirement that each of the four mayors who sit on county council must sit on the advisory committee. In the new version, the mayor can designate the second member of council from their township as the committee member.

As well, the scope of the committee's role will be subject to review in two years.

On one potentially contentious matter, the version of the committee's mandate that was passed last week is the same as the proposal that was deferred in May. It is the Planning Advisory Committee's role to conduct public hearings on plans of subdivision and plans of condominium, as outlined in the following proposal in the document:

“It is also recommended that the PAC also hold the formal public meetings as required by the Planning Act for subdivision and condominium applications. Currently these meetings are held by each township council at the request of the county. Having the PAC hold these meetings will result in a more transparent and accountable process, as the public will be aware that they are speaking to a committee of county council, and that four of the eight county council members will be present at the meeting.”

Heated discussion over fire chief's review

In a recorded decision during Friday's meeting, North Frontenac Council voted 4-3 in favor of the changes suggested by Fire Chief Eric Korhonen in his operational review of the township's volunteer fire department.

The vote was deferred twice before this meeting, as the report has been controversial amongst the councilors.

Fire Chief Korhonen's report recommended creating an assistant fire chief position, reducing station captain positions, and scheduling on-call volunteers for weekends.

Councillor Dennis Bedard was, again, quick to express his concerns with the report.

“There are some deep, deep, deep concerns over eliminating the deputy fire chiefs and losing that contact with the stations,” Bedard explained.

“There are some deep concerns about losing the captains,” Bedard continued. “I don't think we're ready to accept this. At least not all of this. I think we're ready to accept some of the pay changes. The volunteers deserve this.”

“I don't see any evidence with our position and population density that supports the position of an assistant chief,” Councillor Vernon Hermer said. “Other [larger] townships have one chief.”

“My understanding was, when we hired you, that we needed a chief,” Councillor John Inglis said. “There was a job description for it and I certainly didn't have it in mind that in six months down the road we'd have to hire a half-time person to do this extra job.”

“I don't see the connection between this [new] person and the stations,” Councillor Bedard added. “I don't see that improving.”

“I think the deputy fire chiefs live in those communities and they are the direct link from the station to the fire chief,” Councillor Bedard continued. “That's always worked well. I think where it has failed is that the deputies have not been trained on what to prepare for the chief and I think they can be a big asset to the chief if they're properly trained, and we already have them living in our community.”

“In Kaladar-Barrie, for over 10 years, we have had a deputy fire chief training officer as a part-time paid employee for 15 hours a week,” CAO Cheryl Robson pointed out.

Fire Chief Korhonen explained that this new position of assistant chief would incorporate that training officer position.

“If we jump the gun on this and we make a mistake...it can affect these volunteers quite nastily,” Councillor Bedard said. “Would it hurt us to eliminate the recommendations with respect to this assistant chief and the on-call and maybe a couple of councillors could sit down with Eric and the deputies to see if there is something long-term to work on? Why make that decision now? Lets make sure everybody is on board with it.

“There's a mix in any major decision we make,” Mayor Ron Higgins said.

“Agreed,” Councillor Bedard said. “But this is a major one. This affects our fire department.”

Councillors Bedard, Hermer, and Inglis voted against the motion and Councillors Good, Perry, Martin, and Mayor Higgins voted in favour.

“From my side he justified the rationale for having an assistant,” Mayor Higgins said.

The financial implications of Chief Korhonen's report is an increase of $18,612.26 to the 2017 budget.

911 sign fees waived for original property owners

During Friday's meeting, Council voted to waive the fee for installing a 911 civic number on properties in the township that were missed when the numbers were originally installed during amalgamation.

Councillor Gerry Martin brought the issue to the table, suggesting to Council that the fee was unfair for residents whose properties were missed originally when the addressing system was put in place.

In the past, the township has been charging $100 to residents who need the 911 sign installed on their property.

If a resident never received a sign when they were originally installed, and can prove they owned the property during that time, and still do, than they can request a sign from the township at no expense.

Radon Gas Protection

John McEwen spoke to Council of the dangers of radon gas in basements that are used as living spaces. He quoted the Ontario Lung Association’s statement that “radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in Ontario, accounting for more than 850 fatalities per year province wide.”

McEwen asked Council to to consider making it a building code requirement that all new houses in the Township have properly installed waterproofing and soil gas control membranes in their basements. He said that Wolfe Island already does this. Mayor Ron Vandewal recommended this issue be referred to Corporate Services Committee for recommendation.

Perth Road Corridor Study

Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth reported on a study done by AECON on the section of Perth Road from the Rutledge Road intersection south to Kingston. The intent is to develop a long-range plan for corridor improvement which would take into account all known proposed developments as well as projected background development. There is potential for over 740 more new houses to access this already-busy corridor by the year 2035. The study addresses recommended near future, short term, long term and ongoing improvements.

Segsworth said the Public Works Committee has already reviewed the study and although they are in favour of the overall plan, they “didn’t exactly embrace” the suggestion of a roundabout as a ‘gateway feature’ at the Moreland-Dixon road intersection to assist with the transition from from 80 km/hr to 50 km/hr in the village area.

Councillor McDougall congratulated Segsworth for “an excellent long-term plan”, and further discussion focussed on means of funding the work, so developers could be given am up-front estimate of their portion of the cost. Segsworth said Kingston is already looking at a long-range transit plan, and will be involving South Frontenac in this.

Automated Vehicle Location Software

AVL Systems is a means of tracking municipal vehicles, in order to assist in answering customer complaints about Township vehicle and contractors’ speed and locations, garbage pick-up and winter road maintenance, etc, as well as vehicle maintenance information. $

100,000 had been budgeted for purchase and installation of the units, based on the Skyhawk system chosen by Lennox and Addington. However, conversations with Central Frontenac staff brought another solution to South Frontenac’s attention. Fleet Complete by Tyroute Telus would provide the same service without the cost for hardware and installation, thus saving the budgeted $100,000 capital expenditure. Both systems have similar monthly service fees, and require a three-year contract. Segsworth said the extra “bells and whistles” offered by Skyhawk would add little value, and were known to be prone to malfunctioning.

Following discussion, Segsworth was asked to check with the township’s insurance supplier as to whether the type of system chosen might have any substantial effect on insurance premiums.

Segsworth’s recommendation will come to Council for approval July 05.

Wells Monitored in Hartington

Segsworth reported that the Township has monitored 6 wells at the Boyce Road/Road 38 area for hydrocarbons and related pollutants: the firehall, Princess Anne Building and four residences. All tested clean, but the monitoring will be ongoing.

Council mulling over Crow Lake Road speed issue

A contingent of Crow Lake Village residents attended this week's Central Frontenac Council meeting to hear what Council plans to do after a delegation led by the owners of the The Oaks petitioned Council to set up a pedestrian crosswalk in the village.

In a report to Council, Public Works Manager John Badgley outlined a number of options, including: pedestrian crossovers, which include overhead lights that are triggered by pedestrians hitting a button on one side of the road; courtesy crossing, where stopping is not mandatory; speed bumps; permanent speed signs; traffic signs; and engaging the OPP to enforce speed limits.

In the end, Badgley recommended that traffic signs be installed at a cost of $1,000 to $1,500 to inform drivers that a pedestrian crossing is ahead.

However, Badgley was not present at the meeting, as he is away on vacation. In his absence, road superintendents Rick Commodore and Steve Gould said they had investigated the possibility of temporary speed bumps on both sides of the village.

“The advantage of temporary bumps is that they will not cause problems for the snow plows in the winter because we can remove them,” said Commodore.

Council passed a motion to install the traffic signs and asked Commodore and Gould to bring back pricing on the temporary speed bumps.

The Crow Lake residents then left, and at least one of them was visibly upset, saying Council is doing “nothing for us”. He then added that “the only solution is stop signs.”

Line painting contract approved retroactively

CAO Cathy MacMunn learned on Monday that the line painters who were engaged by both South Frontenac and North Frontenac to work on the arterial roads, such as Highway 509 and Road 38, were working their way through South Frontenac and would be willing to do the painting in Central Frontenac at the same price as the other townships, $160 per kilometre under a three-year contact. However, they needed the go ahead on Monday.

By the time the matter came to Council on Tuesday, MacMunn said she had already given the go-ahead. Still, Council gave retroactive approval.

Building starts slow down in May

After a disappointing May, when permits valued at only $88,000 were sold, which compares unfavorably to the total of $269,000 in 2015 and $935,000 in 2014, the year to date permit activity has dropped to the lowest level in the last three years. As of June 1, the total is $1.2 million this year. By this time last year the total was over $2 million and in 2014 it was $1.3 million.

In terms of new residential units, permits for three have been sold this year, whereas five had been sold at this time in 2015 and three in 2014.

Chief Building Official Jeremy Neven said that based on enquiries he has received, he expects that activity will increase in the coming month or so.

At a session for municipal staff, council and representatives from the not-for-profit sector that was held at the Frontenac County offices on June 13, Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Pender introduced the Big Data for Small Places initiative to Frontenac County.

The initiative is based on a pilot project that took place in Lanark County, which was run by Bob Leitch and Nelson Rogers of Perth. It is designed to create focus groups of four or five people to be trained in using available statistical information to do two things: identify key factors that pertain to a specific public issue they are passionate about, and to use that data-based insight to deal with that issue or find a way to obtain funding to do so.

“As small municipalities we don't have access to the same grants as larger municipalities because we often don't know how to present our case to funders, through data-based evidence,” said Pender.

Leitch and Rogers have received a funding boost of $50,000 in seed money from the Rural Ontario Institute and have a commitment of $5,000 from at least three and as many as five eastern Ontario counties. Frontenac, Leeds and Grenville, and Lanark are about to jump on board and Hastings and Peterborough have expressed interest. They are planning to seek further funding to reach about $200,000, which will allow them to work with the local counties to identify four or five problems that need solving, and to train existing personnel how to use data to attack those problems.

“Some of those problems will be local in scope, and can be addressed with teams from within one county. Others will be regional and it will be useful to put together teams from two, three or more of the counties,” said Brian Leitch.

The process was started with a round table discussion among the 30 or so people at the event, who tried to narrow down a list of 20 or so issues of concern in Frontenac County to a list of five. The list of 20 included transportation, economic development, the impact to tourism, libraries and halls, health hubs, communal servicing and more. After a straw vote, the list was whittled down and small group discussions were set up.

While the workshop came to no ultimate conclusions about projects, CAO Pender will follow up and create working groups for the highest profile of the issues that were raised.

Participants in the project will receive 24 hours of training in the use of data and will work on specific issues in the fall and early winter, with a goal of identifying a path forward by the end of March of next year.

Much noise on noise

The township's noise bylaw prohibits amplified music out of doors. A contentious proposal to suspend it for three events at Mazinaw Lakeside Resort this summer, on July 2, July 30, and either August 20 or September 3, turned into a debate between Lori Ellerbeck, one of the resort owners, and Susan Delaney, Rod Trute and Elizabeth Russell, cottage owners on Mazinaw Lake.

The resort, which is located on the east side of Highway 41, across from Mazinaw Lake, has hosted a number of rock and pop music events in recent years, much to the consternation of some of the lakefront property owners.

“We are only talking about three nights out of 365 in the year,” said Ellerbeck. She said that she had learned three days before the meeting that opponents of her proposal had written to Council, so she quickly started up a petition, collecting 25 signatures.

When she approached Council, Susan Delaney pointed out that a number of names on the list were people who lived some distance away from the resort, and would not be affected by the noise in their own homes.

“To sanction these events allows a private business to profit at the expense of residential ratepayers,” said Delaney. “It is not just three nights; it is three nights during long weekends. Our family and friends can only come up on long weekends. The noise is so loud that we cannot enjoy a campfire; we are held hostage in our homes with the windows closed. We can't enjoy our property.”

Elizabeth Russell said, “I agree with what Susan said wholeheartedly. It is a troublesome situation. It is extremely noisy, extremely disruptive.”

Dave Deacon, who lives next to the Mazinaw Resort, said he supports the live music events because they help the resort stay open.

“It does a lot for the community and is the only restaurant left on that side of the Mazinaw,” he said.

Lori Ellerbeck said she wonders why Brown's Campground, which is located at the far end of the lake, not far from her resort, is able to hold their own events without trouble, and don't even apply for noise bylaw exemptions.

“They bring in the exact same band” she said, “the same band.”

Councilor Tony Fritsch proposed a motion that Council approve one event.

Councilor Bill Cox said that the matter, which has come before Council in years past, “keeps haunting us .. Two years ago we approved one event; last year two. What needs to happen is the stage needs to be turned around to face away from the lake. I will support one event, only if the stage is turned around.”

Fritsch said he would accept Cox's amendment to his motion.

Pointing out that Ellerbeck had said she has already booked bands for July 2 and July 30, Deputy Mayor Helen Yanch said she would not support the single event motion.

The motion was approved, on a vote of 3-2, with Yanch and Reeve Hogg voting against it.

Noise bylaw exemption for Flinton Jamboree

“Timing is everything,” said Councilor Cox when the next item on the agenda was a request for an exemption to the township's noise bylaw for the July/August long weekend for the Flinton Jamboree.

“This is for three days but it is only one event,” Cox added. “No one has ever complained about it.”

“I live near there and I hear it; I certainly hear it, and I am not a fan of country music,” said Helen Yanch. “I'm not going to oppose it because it is good for the community, but I want it to be known that I hear it.”

“I hear it also,” said Cox.

Council granted the noise bylaw exemption, as well as a subsequent request to waive the rental fee for the use of the Flinton Recreation Centre and grounds for the event.

Bicycle recycling

Robert Sprague was given permission to take a number of bicycles that were left in the Vennachar dump, with a view towards fixing them up and giving them to some of the children in Denbigh.

Free Methodist Church rebuild

Council expressed its support for the congregation of the Vennachar Free Methodist Church in their intention to rebuild the church, which has been in continuous use since 1894. The potential of a funding application to the Canada 150 Infrastructure Fund Intake 2 is being considered for the project.

Backhoe purchase

Council approved the purchase of a backhoe from John's Equipment of Frankford for the price of $125,445, minus $12,000 for the trade-in of the township's old backhoe. It was the lowest bid.

Breathing apparatus

On the recommendation of Fire Chief Cuddy, Council approved the purchase of new self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) units from AJ Stone at a price of $177,350 for the Kaladar Barrie department and $80,668 for the Denbigh department.

Clean review

Adam Young from Seckler, Ross and Perry, presented his findings after reviewing the township’s consolidated financial statements for 2015, and found no serious issues in the statements.

OPP visit

Inspector Pat Finnegan, detachment commander for Napanee/Loyalist/Kaladar, brought the quarterly incident data to Council. Year over year the incident numbers were similar, although the number of constable hours in the township were down from about 185 in 2015 to about 160 in the first quarter of 2016, which could translate in savings in billing down the road.

Finnegan also talked about what he described as a successful first few months for the “Situation Table” initiative that he has been co-chairing in Napanee.

Representatives from police, social and health services agencies meet weekly in Napanee. Participants bring forward the names of individuals that they have determined are in crisis. If the case fits a strict set of criteria, the agencies send teams to see the person and offer them comprehensive services to help them take steps to improve their circumstances. The idea is to intervene before any incident leading to injury, arrest or any other negative outcome takes place

“We have dealt with 29 individuals so far, and there have been success stories. Some people say ‘go away’, but some are receptive. The other change is that as a group that meets each week, we have developed a better understanding of the work everyone else does. We are becoming a team, which is exciting,” he said.

The Situation Table deals with individuals from Napanee and rural Lennox and Addington County.

A special meeting to approve paving

Crains’ Construction, who had made the lowest bid of $124,608 to rehabilitate and double surface treat a 1.7 km stretch of the Henderson Road, just north of Highway 7 near Arden, said they were prepared to start on the project this week.

Since the regular Central Frontenac Council meeting was not set until next week (June 14), Council met in special session on Monday (June 6) to approve the contract.

The budgeted amount for the project is $197,000 and that money has been left in place in case there are reasonable options to improve the project once it is under way.

North Frontenac Telephone to expand to Mountain Grove

Council also approved a proposal for North Frontenac Telephone to use a road allowance for an expansion plan to bring high speed Internet service to the village of Mountain Grove.

It was all smiles at the outset of the monthly meeting of Frontenac County Council on Wednesday, May 18 as members of council celebrated with paramedics Joe Ferguson and Dale Hodgins, who were two of 21 winners of Ontario's first-ever Awards for Paramedic Bravery.

The awards were handed out at Queen's Park in Toronto on May 12. The incident that led to the award took place almost 2 ½ years ago.

On December 4, 2013 Ferguson and Hodgins attended a call in which a car went off the road and drove into a house at Centennial Drive and Wheathill Street in Kingston, breaking a major gas line in the process. With the driver still behind the wheel, and gas pouring out of the line, Ferguson and Hodgins rushed in to grab the patient and drag him away from danger. Ferguson and Hodgins administered CPR and the Advanced Life Support cardiac arrest protocol, and the patient was transported to Kingston General Hospital.

To call Ferguson and Hodgins veteran members of Frontenac Paramedic Services is an understatement, since each of them has over 35 years' experience as paramedics.

Recalling the events of the day with the benefit of hindsight, Joe Ferguson said the driver had to be removed from the car using the passenger door because the driver's door was pinned up against a fence.

“We really didn’t give it a second thought,” he said. “We knew this man was unconscious and in distress and we had to get him out of there. It wasn't until the call was over that I realized maybe it was a little dangerous,” he said.

Dale Hodgins described receiving the award as “enormous, a fantastic feeling.”

“What Joe and Dale did that day could have cost them their lives, but they did it regardless. I am humbled to be the chief of a service with such exemplary paramedics as Joe and Dale, and honoured that they received the Ontario Award for Paramedic Bravery," said Paul Charbonneau, Director of Emergency and Transportation Services and Chief of FPS.

“If I ever have a need, I hope one of you comes to help me,” said Frontenac County Warden Frances Smith in presenting certificates to the two paramedics.

Zeroes

After the celebrations came the more dismal task of trying to sort out how land use planning will be administered in Frontenac County going forward. In a proposal that was submitted by Joe Gallivan, the parameters of a planning advisory committee were outlined for Council to consider.

Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Pender pointed out that the establishment of the committee will be mandatory once Bill 73 (The Smart Growth For Our Communities Act) is enacted by the Province of Ontario.

“How we satisfy that requirement is up to us,” Pender said, “we could establish a skeleton committee that meets only once a year, or we could bring in a committee that is responsible for all planning matters, down to minor variations. In this report, Joe has sought a middle ground.

“The purpose of the committee is to be the venue to deal with some of the major long-term planning decisions, providing advice and recommendations to county council. It is not our intention to duplicate the work of township planning departments and committees of adjustments,” he said.

Provision 5 of the terms of reference for the committee includes the following: “When applicable, review and consider reports on the following matters that fall within the mandate of the committee: 1. Subdivision and condominium applications; 2. Extensions of draft plan approvals; 3. County and Township Official Plan amendments; and 4. County and Township Official Plan updates.”

Gallivan explained later that in order to accomplish item 1. on the above list, the advisory committee would conduct public meetings within the member townships as part of the approval process for plans of subdivision and plans of condominium.

Currently those public meetings are being held in front of municipal councils, who then make recommendations to the county, which is the approval authority for them.

These public meetings have been common in South Frontenac Township in recent times, as proposals for larger scale developments have become more common.

“The province is promoting transparency in planning, and this way the public will be in front of the people with the approval authority for plans of subdivision and condominium,” said Gallivan.

The importance of the committee is underpinned by its proposed makeup: the four mayors of the Frontenac townships along with three appointees from the public.

The provincial requirement is only that at least one member of the public be appointed to the planning advisory committee; the rest of the makeup is left to the county to determine.

North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins read a prepared statement as soon as the proposed terms of reference for the committee were tabled.

He said that he spent several hours reading all the documentation surrounding the proposal, only to find the proposal had been changed just one day before the council meeting.

Higgins moved that the matter be deferred, and presented a list of further issues to be clarified by county staff before it is brought back to the table. In particular he questioned why the mayors of the townships will be required to sit on the committee.

“My plate is full already, so adding more meetings is an issue, and I don't have expertise in planning either,” said Higgins. “I would like to see a set of options presented for us to consider, as is the case with most of the proposals that come to us. Here we see only one way forward for us to take or leave.”

Warden Frances Smith said she would support a deferral, but that Higgins had included too many conditions that needed clarification.

Deputy Warden (and mayor of South Frontenac) Ron Vandewal took issue with other parts of the terms of reference for the proposed committee, particularly those that pertain to housing and economic development.

In the end, Higgins' motion to defer was altered for clarity and council supported it.

It is unclear if this matter will return in June or July, but CAO Pender indicated it needs to be resolved sooner than later because once Bill 73 is enacted “the province may or may not provide for a grace period before a planning advisory committee needs to be in place.

Deal reached for K&P north of Tichborne.

The first hurdle in securing passage for the K&P Trail between the hamlet of Tichborne and the junction with the Trans-Canada trail in Sharbot Lake has been cleared with a 10-year, renewable agreement between Frontenac County and Suncorps, which owns a piece of the trail just north of the CP rail tracks at the north end of the hamlet.

County staff and community volunteers are working on securing agreements from a series of private landowners along Road 38. Once this leg of the trail can be secured and completed, it will link the Trans-Canada Trail with the Cataraqui Trail at the Harrowsmith junction, ensuring Frontenac County is included in the Trans-Canada trail network.

Township’s Organizational Review: Still a Long Way to Go…

A meeting was held on May 4 to discuss an organizational review that was presented to South Frontenac Council in April. On Tuesday night, May 24, CAO Wayne Orr presented his take on where the review stands after that May 4 meeting.

He began by saying: “From the May 04 meeting it is clear that there is no clear direction from Council on how to proceed.” Orr went on to distill a summary of some of the challenges and recommendations reflecting Council’s discussions on May 4.. He is now recommended that instead of the seven new positions envisioned by the review, just three people should be hired: a clerk, a fire prevention officer and a director of planning and building services.

In commenting on Orr's summary, was a discussion of the fire chief’s need for a prevention officer, culminating in questions about the exact nature of the chief’s job description. There was also general agreement with the proposal to hire a clerk

Planning, however, was the main topic of discussion, as it has been at the Frontenac County table recently. Mayor Vandewal said that Frontenac County staff seem to be taking the position that “South Frontenac doesn’t know what they’re doing, so why should we try to fix it for them?” Councilor Ross Sutherland said that if the township showed a clear direction in planning, in time the County might be prepared to delegate more to the township. Councilor Alan Revill said he saw no need to hire more staff unless they have some reassurance that it is realistic for the township to work toward taking over a stronger planning role. Councilor John McDougall said that the planning process “was a mess’ and that it was “time to stop cutting bait and start fishing.”

Mayor Vandewal finally spoke.

“We’re spending a lot of time babysitting downstairs [the location of the planning and building departments]. I get very few complaints about Public Works or any of the other departments; the problems are all downstairs. It’s a total mess, it just creates work for council. The whole problem of planning is not as big as people think it is. We know where the problem is,” he said.

Council sat silent after this, and there were no decision taken on Wayne Orr's recommendation that a planning director be hired to oversee the planning and building departments

CAO Orr then informed Council that he, Mayor Vandewal and Councilor McDougall were meeting together with the county warden and county CAO on Friday to work toward improving communications and working relationships between Township and County.

Re-opening of the Point

In response to Deputy Mayor Sutherland’s query, Public Works Manager Segsworth said the Recreation Committee is planning a ‘grand re-opening’ for June 6. Meanwhile, people are being asked to respect the fenced-off areas, for the dry season has preventing the recently-seeded areas from sprouting. Segsworth says he is following up with the contractor, who has obligations to water the seed until grass has been established.

Central Frontenac Council paid their annual visit to Mountain Grove, meeting at the Olden Hall on Tuesday afternoon, May 24.

Tax sale success

Treasurer Michael McGovern brought some good news to Council regarding the recent sale of properties for which back taxes were owing. The sale was completed on May 12.

Of the eight properties on offer, one was redeemed by the owner through the payment of the outstanding taxes; five were sold, and two did not receive any bids. Of the five properties that sold, all of them went for substantially more than the reserve bid, including one that sold for over $165,000 and another that sold for over $213,000.

The total haul for the township, some of which needs to be shared with Frontenac County and the Ministry of Education, who were owed taxes on them, was over $600,000.

McGovern said that another sale will be held in the fall.

Tulips for Canada 150

Council decided to support a proposal by Villages Beautiful to do special plantings of red and white tulips around the township in honour of Canada's 150th anniversary next year.

Float Trailer

On the recommendation of Public Works Manager John Badgley, Council approved the purchase of a tandem axle float trailer for $26,500 from Float King. The float will be painted red, the township's colours, at no extra cost. The bid was the lowest of five that were received.

Crosswalk for Crow Lake

Karen and Dan Lahey from the Oaks Cottages on Crow Lake Road came to Council in support of a written request they had submitted, asking that a pedestrian crosswalk be established in the village of Crow Lake.

Pointing out that the 40 km/hr speed limit on Crow Lake Road in the village is not adhered to, and that their guests as well as others on the north side of the road need to cross the road to access the lake, they asked that the township take action.

Mayor Frances Smith said that before deciding how to proceed, the township needs to solicit the opinion of the public works department, and a motion to refer the matter to Public Works was passed. The matter will come back to Council in June, however, so any changes that are made will be in place for the summer season this year.

Seniors' month proclaimed

The township proclaimed June as Seniors' Month in honour of the contributions made by seniors to the local communities. On June 28, the Central Frontenac Seniors of the Year, one from each district, will be announced at a council meeting in Sharbot Lake.