“We always said that county staff wanted to close the Denbigh base, and now we have proof,” said Addington Highlands Reeve Henry Hogg at a meeting of AH council on Monday night, January 11.

His comments referred to a report that he received last Thursday from Lennox and Addington County staff in preparation for a working meeting of Lennox and Addington Council this week.

Hogg, along with Deputy Reeve Helen Yanch, sit on L&A Council along with two members each from Loyalist and Stone Mills townships and the City of Napanee.

The proposal in the report to L&A Council from Chief of Emergency Services Mark Schjerning calls for the transfer of the remaining 12-hour day shift at the Denbigh base to a new 12-hour night shift at a base in Loyalist Township. It also calls for the establishment of a new service based in Centreville, in Stone Mills Township, noting that average response times in Stone Mills are higher than anywhere else in the township. The report also notes that average response times were up by 12 seconds county-wide in 2014 as compared to 2013.

One of the arguments against the continuing existence of the Denbigh base is the calculation of the price per service call. Since staffing costs per shift are the same no matter how many times the ambulance is called out, the busiest station, in Napanee, has a cost of $743 per call, while the Denbigh base, with only 190 calls per year, has a cost of almost $4,200 per call.

To make the finances even worse, a high percentage of Denbigh calls, 44% (84) are cross-border calls, mostly to Renfrew and Frontenac County, and the compensation paid by neighbouring municipalities for cross-border calls is low, only $350 per call. Ultimately the result is that 44% of the calls to the Denbigh Ambulance generate only 3.5% of the $800,000 cost of operating the base, of which the provincial government provides just under half of the money. L&A ratepayers pay the rest.

“The problem with the way ambulance service is delivered is that dispatch is done on a seamless basis, but there are boundaries where funding is concerned,” said Councilor Tony Fritsch, who added that he has contacted local community activists in Denbigh to let them know that the closing of the Denbigh base is back in front of L&A Council.

When the fate of the Denbigh base hung in the balance in 2012, politicians from Addington Highland were joined by their compatriots from Renfrew County in an attempt to find a regional solution, because the removal of the Denbigh service would create a geographical gap. It presently fills the gap between the Renfrew base to the north-east, the Bancroft base to the west, and the Northbrook base to the south. Nothing came of those efforts, and the base was downgraded from a 24-hour a day operation to a 12-hour a day operation at that time.

“County staff wanted to close the Denbigh base in 2012, and it was all we could do to convince them to keep the base open at all. So it does not surprise me that they are trying again, not at all. They pointed to a study by the IBI group back in 2012,and said they were only following the study's recommendations. There has been no new study so we know that this is something that the staff want,” said Reeve Henry Hogg.

In the report, staff list four options for enhancement to ambulance service in the county. The options are listed in order of priority. Number 1 is to increase the Loyalist coverage to a 24/7 service; number 2 is to establish a 12/7 daytime service in Stone Mills; number 3 is to increase coverage in Napanee by adding a second night shift; and the 4th option is to increase Stone Mills' coverage to 24 hours a day.

The report says, “Staff believes that these enhancements are a higher priority than maintaining coverage at the Denbigh base.”

It also says that staff are not seeking “a final determination of a plan for the ambulance service” but rather a “direction regarding the allocation of funding” for the 2016 budget.

(adendum - The staff report was tabled at a meeting of Lennox and Addington County Council on Wednesday, January 13. After a lengthy discussion, the Warden and Chief Administrative Officer were tasked with contacting their counterparts in Frontenac, Renfrew and Hastings Counties to seek regional funding support to keep the Denbugh base up and running.

"The politicains on County Council do not want to close the Denbigh base, at least as far as I can tell, but the other counties's did not come through the last time they were asked, so I don't hold out that much hope they will now," said Addington Highlands Reeve Henry Hogg in a telephone interview with The Frontenac News on January 14th.)

Central Frontenac Council has received a letter from Kingston Frontenac Library Board Chair Claudette Richardson, which sets out the way the library sees the future of the Parham branch. The letter was based on a meeting held between Mayor Frances Smith and library staff and Board members on December 11.

Not only does the letter outline who will pay for what as the branch is set up in an extra room that was built into the new Parham fire hall, it also makes it clear that the branch will only stay open if it meets “performance benchmarks” set by the library board.

The township needs to provide not only the space but all furnishings and equipment as well, and will also be responsible for facility costs such as utilities, snow clearing and insurance.

The library will supply all computer equipment and related costs, and will cover the costs of Internet and phone service, library materials and staffing for six hours a week.

Richardson said that not only will the board set benchmarks that need to be met by Parham branch users, they will also set out a timeline for those benchmarks to be met. She said they would close the branch and transfer the hours to a new branch in Mountain Grove if those benchmarks are not met. The fact that a new branch in Mountain Grove has not yet been approved in any Central Frontenac budget is also referred to in the letter.

“If the Mountain Grove branch is not built within the time frame specified, the Library Board will work with the township to determine the next steps,” Richardson wrote.

Finally, the letter gives the library board an option to remove service from Parham, perhaps even if the usage benchmarks are met.

“The continued operation of the Parham branch will depend on the availability of resources and funding within the budget targets imposed by our funders,” said Richardson

At a meeting of Central Frontenac Council on Tuesday (January 12) Mayor Frances Smith said that the shelving that needs to be put in place will cost about $28,000 and that a drop box will cost another $3,000.

She said that the meeting that took place in December had been a good one, and that “the library board is really trying to establish a reasonable target for usage given the size of the community and other factors. We will be able to engage with them on the benchmark and our two county representatives on their board, John Purdon and Annie Peace-Fast, will play a role in monitoring how the library handles the matter.”

She added that it is a “beautiful space” that has been created for the library at the back of the new Parham fire hall.

“I'm not convinced they haven't already made up their mind and are just stringing us along,” said Councilor Philip Smith.

Councilor Bill MacDonald said that in his recollection it was the Library that provided shelving when the branch in Sharbot Lake was upgraded in the 1990s.

When the Frontenac Public Library was originally established, each of the Frontenac townships committed to establishing a branch, and when four townships (Olden, Oso, Hinchinbrooke and Kennebec) amalgamated to form Central Frontenac, the new township inherited four branches.

The Kingston Frontenac Public Library, which was created after municipal amalgamation in 1998, has continued to provide staffing and library materials to the four branches, but in a report tabled in 2006, it was proposed that one larger branch in Sharbot Lake be built to replace all four existing branches.

Since then the Arden branch has been upgraded and is included in the long term plans of the library, and the existing Sharbot Lake branch has remained busy, but the status of the Parham and Mountain Grove branches has been precarious.

While the letter from board chair Richardson creates doubt about the continued viability of the Parham branch, the reference to supporting a “new facility in Mountain Grove” is the first sign of a long-term commitment to a third branch in Central Frontenac.

Mayor Smith said that if the Parham branch is forced to close, the new shelving can be used for an upgraded Mountain Grove facility.

The commitment to a branch in every former Frontenac Township was broken by the KFPL Board when they closed the Ompah branch in the former Palmerston - Canonto township five years ago.

A community group has established an independent library where the KFPL branch used to be located.

Brown and Martin appeal to CF council for Pine Meadow funding

In separate delegations to Council, Rev. Jean Brown and Brenda Martin made a request to put aside $50,000 in their 2016 budget to help cover the estimated $112,000 cost of replacing 11 windows at Pine Meadow Nursing Home (PMNH) in Northbrook.

Their request came about because Frontenac County Council turned down a request to fund the $112,00 project back in November of last year. North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins and Central Frontenac Councilor Tom Dewey both voted no to the request, as did the representatives from Frontenac Islands. At a later meeting of North Frontenac Council, $25,000 was allocated to help fund the project, after being proposed by Mayor Higgins. Brown and Martin are both hoping that that Central Frontenac Council will follow suit.

“North Frontenac Council has voted to fix their mistake and we are here requesting that Central Frontenac Council do the same”, Brown said, adding that “Central Frontenac has given nothing to the PMNH and it's time that we get started here.”

Brown said that 50% of residents of the home come from North and Central Frontenac.

She further asked the council to “examine their budget with regards to nursing homes that are supported” and to publish the report in the Frontenac News. Lastly, she asked Council to encourage County Council to re-table their no vote on the issue. Prior to the meeting Brown had sent 600 letters out to local residents of Central Frontenac outlining the issue and inviting readers to write letters to CF council members asking for their support in the matter.

Brenda Martin, chair of the family council at the PMNH, then addressed Council. She said, “The decision at the county table has spurred the family council to take action as well”. Martin said the request to the county represented “a very reasonable 0.014% of their 2016 budget”.

Councilor Tom Dewey said he had not supported the project at the county level “for fear of setting a precedent”.

After the presentations were complete, Dewey put forth a motion to support the project as a one-time expense and to consider the request at Council's upcoming 2016 budget deliberations. Councilor Bill MacDonald agreed. Councilor Victor Heese said that senior care is the responsibility of the county and not of the lower tier councils.

“My concern is that if we support this, which is not in our mandate, we will get similar requests all of the time”, he said.

Reverend Brown replied, “We are asking for this as a way to fix a mistake made at the county level”.

Mayor Frances Smith said that although she agreed with Heese that seniors' care is the responsibility of the county, “municipalities do have the ability to make a grant to anybody, anywhere for anything.”

Mayor Smith closed the discussion by requesting that Brown and Martin make their presentation to South Frontenac and the Islands and make a presentation as well to County Council again in the new year.

In a motion following the delegation, Council agreed to consider the $50,000 request in their 2016 budget deliberations.

Proposals for Tipping Fees on Hard Plastics

Public Works Manager John Badgely recommended that Council consider introducing tipping fees for hard plastics at the township waste sites. Hard plastics would include lawn furniture, toys, laundry baskets and more. Currently there are no tipping fees required for these items. Badgley said there has been a build up of them at local waste sites as the result of a weakened market in hard plastics because low oil prices are making these items cheaper to make new than to recycle.

“Tipping fees would allow us to look into options like grinding these items down and making more room in our landfills,” Badgley said.

Councilor Dewey wondered how the fees would be charged and Badgely suggested making one fee across the board, which would “make things simple and avoid arguments”. Bagdley said that because a grinder could be costly (Dewey estimated anywhere from $50,000 - $80,000), he would look into meeting with public works managers in North and South Frontenac to see if they would be interested in sharing the costs of one.

Council passed a motion requesting that the waste management committee bring more information on the matter back to Council.

Badgley proposes ending the Amnesty Load Program

In his report regarding the 2015 amnesty load program, Public Works Manager John Badgley recommended that Council reconsider a decision they passed last March that will see the program extended until November 2019. He reported that there were 800 amnesty loads in 2015, representing $20,000 in wasted revenue and a shortened life for local landfill sites. Badgley said his aim in ending the program is to extend the life of the township's waste sites by either diverting or charging for these materials.

“The fact is that many residents here, many of whom are summer residents, are using the program to clean up their homes and yards, so really what is happening is that we are taking Toronto's garbage, Ottawa's garbage and everyone else's garbage in our sites.”

Councillor Bill MacDonald said he is on side for canceling the program “I have never used the program and I know what it costs to close a landfill and how difficult it is to open a new one. I also know that once these sites are full we may have no choice but to pay to ship our waste elsewhere.”

Councilor Dewey said he supports the program. “I am not buying the fact that summer residents are taking advantage of this. I know of summer residents who bring their garbage back to the city with them and I also think that the taxes they pay easily balance out the cost of running this program.”

Badgley's recommendation was received for information.

Ad Hoc committee formed for 150th Anniversary

A motion was passed to create a committee to get plans started for a Canada 150 celebration in the township.

“If we are going to do something for this we need to start planning now”, said Mayor Smith. Councilor Victor Heese volunteered to sit on the committee and a second member will be appointed once plans are under way.

Police seek to get upstream

At his semi-annual report to Addington Highlands Council, Detachment Commander Pat Finnegan of the Napanee/Kaladar detachment said that based on a four-year rolling average of statistics there is nothing standing out in Addington Highlands.

“None of the categories, such as Break and Enters, Domestic Assaults, etc., indicate any significant changes,” he said.

He did say that as the result of a six-month investigation by a drug unit made up of members of the detachment and others, into an alleged crystal meth operation, arrests were made this year, including that of one resident of Addington Highlands.

“Apart from that it has been quiet; nothing special has gone on aside from two fatalities from motor vehicle accidents, including an ATV collision and a tractor trailer accident in the fall,” he said.

He also said that as the result of consolidating the administrative team at the detachment headquarters in Napanee, which resulted in the Kaladar detachment no longer being open to the public, waiting lists for things like criminal checks have dropped dramatically, in some cases from a three-month wait to same-day service.

“I would also like to let Council know about a new program we are undertaking. We will be meeting once a month with professionals in social services, addictions, mental health, and others to see if we can't identify individuals and families who are at risk of getting into a situation that may end up involving police or other emergency services. By following a protocol and identifying families that are in that precarious state, we can approach them, as a group, and make them aware of the services that are available from all of us. The idea is to get upstream from situations. By the time police are normally involved they are way downstream. We will have more about this in the future. There is a similar program in Frontenac County,” Commander Finnegan said.

Massive Yard Sale on Canada Day

Councilor Fritsch informed Council that a group is planning a Highway 41 yard sale on Canada Day. People with properties along the highway will be encouraged to hold yard sales, and some larger lots will be used for groups sales as well.

“The plan is to run this all along the length of the highway, from Pembroke to Napanee,” Fritsch said.

Official Plan amendment

The township's planning consultant wrote to Council about a last-minute working change the Ministry of Municipal Affairs is seeking for the township's Official Plan update.

To a section limiting the creation of new lots to two new ones from a single large lot, unless a plan of subdivision process is undertaken, the words “As a general rule” are to be taken out.

“That means that even if someone owns a 200 or 500 acre lot, they can only create two new lots, and there will be no way around it,” said Reeve Hogg. “I don't think we want to do that.”

“What's the alternative if we say no to this?” said Councilor Fritsch.

“We have to appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board,” said Hogg. “We need to find out how much that will cost.”

Staff will talk to the planner and get a sense of what it might cost if the township does not go along with the ministry demand and launches an appeal.

Too much roadwork?

A question came in to Public Works Manager Royce Rosenblath from Councilor Kirby Thompson about the activity by the roads department on the paved Matawatchan Road last Saturday, when there was a mix of drizzle and freezing rain in the forecast.

“The truck passed by the road repeatedly, even though the road was bare,” said Thompson.

Rosenblath was anticipating the question. He handed out a copy of a document called Minimum Maintenance for Municipal Highways from the website of the Government of Ontario.

The document outlines the standard for the prevention of ice formation on roadways “preceding an alleged formation of ice on a roadway”.

Roads departments are expected to monitor the weather and “treat the roadway to prevent ice formation,” it says.

“But the road was clear,” said Thompson.

“And the crews were out to make sure they stayed that way,” said Rosenblath.

“I suggest that we need to communicate to the public that the crews are doing their job in these kinds of circumstances; that they are not out trying to get overtime pay when they are not needed,” said Councilor Tony Fritsch.

“The crews would rather be home with their families, I can assure you of that,” said Rosenblath, “but then again I would rather hear that the roads are too well maintained than that they are not maintained well enough.”

Frontenac Transportation secures five-year funding commitment from County

It has been a long time coming for Frontenac Transportation Service (FTS) to finally settle into its relationship with Frontenac County Council.

For years the Council was reluctant to commit to more than a one-time grant of $80,000 each year to the service, always under a neutral heading in the county budget - “Grants to Outside Agencies”.

The reason for this was a reluctance, expressed most often by former South Frontenac mayor, Gary Davison, to see the county “trapped into running an expensive transportation service. I'm afraid we will see costs increase every year until we are paying hundreds of thousands,” he said.

At county budget meetings five or six years ago, the debate about the $80,000 grant would be one of the longest discussions in the $40 million budget exercise, but over time that concern has slipped away.

Part of the reason was that the $80,000 request never did jump up as Davison expected. The other part was that the service has continued to grow incrementally, providing rides to medical appointments, daycare services, and shopping for vulnerable sectors of the county’s population, including seniors.

By the time Davison was getting ready to leave municipal politics, he had changed his attitude towards the service. At a budget meeting in 2013, he said, “I would support a long term commitment to FTS, and if it needs more than $80,000, that's fine with me as well.”

The funding has increased, and now stands at $96,000 per year, a portion for administration, and a portion to help fund rides. Other agencies, such as Ontario Works, the Local Health Integration Network and the Ontario Disability Support Program pay for rides for their own clients, and other clients pay fees themselves.

Louise Moody from Northern Frontenac Community Services (NFCS) the lead agency for FTS, and David Townsend from the partner agency Southern Frontenac Community Services (SFCS) made their annual visit to Frontenac County Council in mid-December. They were able to report that FTS has provided 5,852 rides for clients in South, Central, and North Frontenac, and that the volunteer drivers who provide the service traveled over $650,000 kilometres and received over $250,000 in reimbursement for mileage.

The numbers have increased over time and are set to increase again at the end of the fiscal year in March of 2016.

FTS service is delivered out of an office in Sharbot Lake.

“We like to have three days’ notice to help us match drivers to rides, but we are able to find rides within a day when clients need them,” said Louise Moody.

“The biggest concern we have is with volunteer drivers. We have about 60, 30 in South Frontenac and 30 in Central and North Frontenac, but we are always looking for more,” said David Townsend.

“With the average age of our drivers becoming older and older, we are getting caught by the same demographic shift that the entire county and region are seeing,” he added.

“I wholly support this service,” said Councilor John McDougall. “They are covering a need and doing it efficiently.”

His view was echoed by that of Councilor John Inglis from North Frontenac.

South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal asked if $96,000 per year for five years was going to cover FTS costs.

“We see no need for an increase,” said David Townsend.

Councilor Natalie Nossal from Frontenac Islands asked whether the service was planning to expand to Wolfe and Howe Islands.

“We have looked into that and the VON [Victorian Order of Nurses] provide transportation in Kingston. They said that if we can find drivers to bring people to the ferry dock in Kingston from Wolfe Island they can take them from there. The same is true for Howe Island, but we need to know if there is a need and if drivers can be found on the islands,” said Townsend.

“If it can be arranged, we can dispatch the rides for the islands just as we do for the rest of the County,” said Louise Moody.

Central Frontenac Township paid $110,000 each for the Sharbot Lake and Hinchinbrooke schools and their surrounding properties.

The township announced the purchases after a council meeting in late February, but the purchase price was not revealed at that time.

There are no firm plans for the use of the schools and township staff have not yet evaluated whether one or both of the buildings can be renovated for an alternate use in a cost-effective manner. Another alternative would be to remove the existing buildings and make use of the properties as building lots.

The need for asbestos mitigation will also have to be evaluated, as that had not been done prior to the completion of the sale.

When she announced the purchase, Mayor Frances Smith said that a public process will be undertaken to determine future uses of each property. She also said it is possible that the Sharbot Lake property might be converted to seniors' housing, and that the Hinchinbrooke site might be a good location for a single public works office and garage for the entire township.

Consolidating public works garages was one of the recommendations of a report into Central Frontenac Township operations that was completed this fall by Frontenac County Chief Administrative Officer, Kelly Pender.

Concerning the Wild Parsnip

Ken Gilpin, who is the weed control officer as well as the bylaw control officer for North Frontenac, came to council to talk about options for dealing with the problem of Wild Parsnip, a noxious roadside weed that has been gaining ascendancy throughout southern Ontario and can be found in North Frontenac.

Gilpin said that Lanark County has introduced a herbicide spraying program to deal with wild parsnip, and that South Frontenac has put money in their 2016 budget to deal with noxious roadside weeds, although they have not yet decided whether or not to go the route of spraying.

As far as the obligations of property owners who have the weed on their land is concerned, Gilpin said that there is an Ontario Weed Act that requires him to order weed removal when an infestation on one property threatens to impact the functioning of a farm, “but aside from agricultural uses, the Weed Act does not prescribe anything else” he said.

“The township does not deal with the poison ivy problem. We just ignore it. I'm wondering why we seem to want to deal with just wild parsnip,” said Councilor John Inglis.

“There are numerous noxious weeds, and they don't stay in one township. Unless every other municipality does, I don't think we should touch it,” said Councilor Wayne Good.

Council received Gilpin's presentation for information, and Mayor Higgins said he will see what other townships of Frontenac County is doing before bringing the matter back to Council.

Rural mayors to look at OPP funding model

Mayor Higgins said that the new Rural Mayors' Forum of Eastern Ontario (RMFEO)) will be addressing OPP funding at their January meeting. Based on a report prepared by three of the mayors in the 13-member organization, the intention is to point out a number of errors in the funding formula to the provincial government.

“We recognize that the funding model is here to stay, but there are flaws that we can address. For instance if someone puts in an apartment above a small store, it is considered two residences, but an urban shopping mall is only considered one, and cell towers are also counted as residences,” said Higgins.

Higgins also said that since municipalities pay 40% of the cost of running the OPP, “We should have a say in the OPP budgeting.”

He said that once a decision is made at the January meeting of RMFEO, a presentation will be made at the Ontario Good Roads Association/Royal Ontario Municipal Association meeting in Toronto in late February.

No refuge in NF

Council decided to receive, but not act on, a request from a group based in Addington Highlands that is trying to bring Syrian refugee families to Cloyne, to be housed for a time at the Bon Echo Hotel. The request was for the use of the Barrie Hall, which is located across the road in North Frontenac, as an administrative center.

“I don't think there is a chance that the government will send refugees here,” said Councilor Vernon Hermer.

“It is probably the worst place for them. No work; no one from their community; no resources,” said John Inglis.

“They also want us to let them know if there are any empty houses for rent in the township. I'll tell them to contact a realtor because we don't keep that information at the township,” said Ron Higgins.

Speed limits changed

Based on a report by Public Works Manager Jim Phillips, a proposed schedule of road speeds on gravel roads in the township was tabled. Phillips recommended the limit be set at 60 km per hour on some roads, 50 on others, and 40 on some smaller, more treacherous roads and sections of roads.

“I suggest that, based on what I've been hearing from residents, we amend the schedule by putting a 40 km sign on Sunday Lake Drive, because the residents there have been clear that it is what they want for their children,” said Councilor Denis Bedard.

“I did this on a technical basis for all the roads, not on the basis of requests,” said Phillips.

When it became clear that an amendment to the schedule was not going to get the support of Council, Bedard asked for a recorded vote on the main motion. It passed 7-2, with Bedard and John Inglis, the two representatives from Ward 3, where Sunday Lake is located, both voting against it.

Mileage rates to stay at 48 cents; pay increase at 2.4%

Council decided to maintain the mileage paid to council members driving on township business to meetings and events other than council meetings at 48 cents per kilometre.

As well, staff and council will receive a cost of living increase of 2.4% in their pay next year. The increase will be calculated based on a 2.4% increase to the average township staff salary, which works out to a 33 cent per hour increase for all staff members.

“Just so everyone knows, what we do is different from what the county does, and the County CAO is dead set against it. What we do is give the same increase to all employees, not matter how much they make, instead of a percentage increase. So an employee making $15 an hour would go to $15.33 and an employee making $60 an hour goes to $60.33. [Former mayor] Bud Clayton said that if the cost of a loaf of bread goes up the same amount no matter how much an employee makes, a cost of living increase should result in the same increase,” said Councilor John Inglis.

The concern expressed by County CAO Pender when Bud Clayton proposed this kind if increase was that it would tend to compact the salaries from the top to the bottom of the scale, and in time could lead to senior managers leaving for greener pastures in other locations.

“There are other ways to deal with that,” said Deputy Mayor Fred Perry, “perhaps through changes to the salary grid or merit increases.”

“This is something we should think about,” said Mayor Higgins, “but we can leave it for this year.”

Land Rezoning: Bedford and Storrington Applications

Planner Mills brought an application for a zoning by-law amendment which would create three new waterfront residential lots and a lot addition, in part of lot 21, Concession XI, Bedford District. All but one of the lots will require a 40 meter set-back from the shore as requested by the RV Conservation authority, and the large remaining property will continue to be zoned RRC (Recreational Resort Commercial) to accommodate an existing five tourist cabins and single detached dwelling. There were no comments from the public. Council passed the by-law.

An application to permit a secondary dwelling within an existing house on Ormsby Road, Storrington, was postponed until the Health Unit could clarify its decision about whether or not the existing septic system is large enough to accommodate one more bedroom.

2015 Private Lane Report

Public Works Manager Segsworth reported that the Private Lane Upgrading program was more successful than ever this past year. For several years, Council has budgeted money to be used to subsidize up to 50% of eligible expenses incurred by residents who upgrade their private lane to Township standards.This year, 27 lane groups applied for a total of over $95,000. “We have achieved significant strides in improving access for emergency vehicles (through this program),” said Segsworth.

Harrowsmith to get CIP Funding in ’16

Council approved the community of Harrowsmith as the next location for Community Improvement Plan funding. The County will facilitate the process of creating the program design with the input of Harrowsmith residents, and is prepared to commit $75,000 toward the project over a 5-year period.

Management Compensation

In keeping with the established practice of following the percentage change negotiated with the CUPE bargaining unit for unionized workers, Council approved a 1% adjustment to the Management salary grid for 2016. This same rate will be applied to all members of Council.

Year End Review

CAO Orr presented a list of highlights from 2015 which included: enhanced focus on community engagement through public meetings and open houses on a variety of issues, implementation of online agendas and meeting minutes, revised procedural by-law, strategic plan adopted, official plan updated and submitted for provincial approval, and reconstruction of Bellrock village. Congratulations were offered to staff, community volunteers, and fellow council members for a busy and productive year.

Frontenac Community Arena

Councillor Revill, as one of the two South Frontenac council reps on the arena board, reported that this year there has been a push to modernize the ice plant and operation to comply with Ministry of Labour standards. Plans for 2016 include replacement of both ammonia compressors, replacement of ice surface lighting and new spectator heaters. The arena has about $233,000 in reserve for capital replacements.

The Arena Board plans to reduce energy usage in all parts of the operation through energy-efficient equipment upgrades. Their goal is to provide good ice and an attractive setting that will draw in more users.

Meeting Schedule

This was the final 2015 Council meeting: COW will be Jan 12, and the next Council meeting will be Jan 19.

Group seeks to bring refugees to Addington Highlands

Andy Anderson appeared before Addington Highlands Council on Monday to support a request by an Ad Hoc group who have already met with MP Mike Bossio to talk about Addington Highlands hosting up to seven refugee families. The request to Council, which came from group member Carolyn McCullough, is for the use of the former Northbrook fire hall as a storage depot for donated items, such as large pieces of furniture (beds, couches, tables, etc.) over the next few months.

Councilor Bill Cox said, “I don't think that building is suitable for storage. The roof leaks and it floods in the spring and summer. That's why we built a new fire hall, and that's why we have been talking about tearing it down.”

Andy Anderson replied that if the ground were lowered at the front door of the hall, which the refugee support group is planning to do, the flooding would not take place.

“I don't think that's the only source of the flooding,” said Cox.

“We don't need the building for that long. We'll have it emptied by the spring,” said Anderson.

Councilor Tony Fritsch said, “What if we set an end date, such as May 1, when the building needs to be clear?”

A motion to that effect was proposed and passed by a vote of 4-1. Bill Cox cast the dissenting vote.

The refugee support group is meeting in Cloyne this week, and will be appealing for support from the public in short order.

Insurance costs up

Addington Highlands’ new fire hall may help lower insurance rates for some residents but the township is looking at an increase. Clerk/Treasurer Christine Reed said that the 11% increase (from $64,000 in 2015 to $72,000 in 2016) follows several years of decreases and has come about because of increases in the value of township assets. These include new vehicles in the roads department and the new fire hall. The township is insured by Jardine Lloyd Thompson.

Sports grant

The township received notice of a granting program, Ontario Sports and Recreation Community Funding, which has a deadline of January 16, 2016.

Councilor Fritsch said he will convene a meeting of seniors and community groups in the township within a week to gauge support for an application.

“If the groups have something in mind, we can get an application in; otherwise we will have to pass. It's short notice, as usual, from the province,” he said.

Rural Mayors’ Forum of Eastern Ontario

Reeve Henry Hogg reported that after meeting monthly for three months, the Rural Mayors’ Forum of Eastern Ontario is taking shape as a group of politicians from smaller municipalities faced with a set of similar concerns, such as increased policing costs and continuing challenges with internet and cell phone service in more remote areas.

One suggestion of the group is for member municipalities to include policing costs as a separate line on tax bills so residents understand where tax increases in 2016 and beyond are coming from.

When asked if all the members of the group are facing increased policing costs, Hogg said that only one, Arnprior, will see a decrease in 2016.

“Arnprior has left the group, because they do not face the same set of problems as the others,” he said.

The group will be meeting next in the Village of Lanark in January.

Holiday Hours

The township office will close on Thursday, December 24 at 12 noon and will not re-open until Monday, January 4 at 8:30 am. The extra days beyond the statutory holidays will be paid holidays, courtesy of the township.

January meeting date

Council normally meets on the first and third Monday of each month. In the case of January, 2016, that would mean meeting in Flinton at 1 pm on January 4. With a meeting already set for December 21 in Denbigh, and the extended Christmas holiday to follow, Council has decided to meet on January 11 at 1pm in Flinton.

“If we do this again next year, that first meeting of the year should take place in Denbigh,” said Reeve Hogg.

Economic Development in South Frontenac

Katie Nolan, an Agriculture and Rural Economic Development Officer who is based in Kemptville, gave a brief but detailed description of the programs, resources and tools her department could offer if Council chooses to undertake economic development planning and implementation for the township.

Nolan listed a wide range of activities that could be called economic development, including community revitalization, investment attraction, business development, and planning and infrastructure development. She outlined the steps that could go into the four stages of the process: preparation, analysis, formulation of goals and action plans, and implementation and assessment. Nolan also cautioned that any such project should be undertaken in a scale appropriate to the size of the community: “Don’t bite off more than you can chew; follow the steps and have a strong plan.”

The outline of her presentation is on the township website, as part of the Dec 08 Committee of the Whole agenda.

Request to Purchase Municipal Property

Planner Mills asked Council to consider a request by Doug Amey to purchase a vacant 100 acre lot of township property on Concession IX, Bedford, which adjoins a similar sized lot belonging to Amey. This came to Council a year ago, and is still unresolved.

Mills listed several complications: both properties are landlocked and accessible only by 1.2 km of unopened road allowance that runs from Canoe Lake Road through wetland and a small waterbody; a portion of this road allowance near the township road has several of the neighbour’s farm buildings located on it; recent investigation shows an unrecorded barn and other buildings located on the township property. The issue was returned to Mills for further information.

Notice of Pending Subdivision Application

Mills advised Council that a new subdivision application was being processed at the County level, and would be coming before Council some time in the New Year. This would be for an eventual 51 residential estate lots on Collins Lake, part lots 25 to 30, concession VII, Storrington District (first phase).

Johnston Point OMB Appeal

In regard to last week’s impasse regarding approval of draft plan approval, CAO Orr announced that Council had provided direction to their lawyer in a closed session prior to tonight’s open meeting.

Township Organizational Review

The 2016 budget includes up to $45,000 for the completion of a comprehensive organizational review. Orr presented a suggested outline of the scope of such a review for Council’s comments before issuing an RFP.

The outline included a stipulation that interviews take place with all members of Council and all managers, supervisors, lead hands, office staff and the union president on how the township is run. It will review how council operates, how all departments are run and will look for efficiencies, savings, and the potential for contracting out some functions, shared service models with other township's, and much more. Comparisons with 3-5 similar sized municipalities will also be required.

Councillors’ comments of “interesting”, “exhaustive” and “comprehensive” all verged on understatement.

Applewood Dock

Representatives of the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority (CRCA) inspected the recently installed Applewood dock (East end, Loughborough Lake) following a thoroughly documented letter of complaint from local resident Matt Rennie. They found that the dock was considerably larger than the permit had specified, but have chosen to not enforce their stipulations.

Councillor Schjerning said he found this lack of follow-up and enforcement to be troubling, asking what Council could do about it.

The CRCA will be invited to explain their decision at the January 12 Committee meeting.