Proposed Official Plan would scuttle development in South Frontenac – Lindsay Mills

It took 10 months for the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs to respond to comprehensive Official Plan revisions that were submitted by South Frontenac Township.

As far as South Frontenac's Planner, Lindsay Mills, is concerned, the ministry might have waited even longer, given some of the requests they are now making for changes.

One of the issues of concern to Mills, and Council as well, is a common one among Frontenac townships. The ministry is insisting that no further development be contemplated on private lanes unless under it is under a plan of subdivision or vacant land condominium, which is an issue that has already left both Central and North Frontenac at loggerheads with the ministry. Frontenac County is also preparing an Official Plan, and anticipates a similar battle.

“It is council's decision whether to fight the private lane provision,” said Mills, “I know that our lawyer is chomping at the bit to fight the ministry on it at the OMB [Ontario Municipal Board].

But there is another amendment that the ministry is requesting that caught Mills completely by surprise. The ministry is proposing that all development within 120 metres of all bodies of water be restricted. This is a huge shift from the 30 metre setback that South Frontenac put in place with their first Official Plan in 1990.

“When we did that we were one of the first to do so; we were way ahead of everyone else, but where did they come up with this?” asked Mayor Ron Vandewal.

To illustrate the impact of the 120 metre setback, Lindsay Mills produced a map that marked all the areas that would be restricted by the 120 metre setback. It left most of the top two-thirds of the township covered in red.

“It think we would be hit harder by this than almost any other township because we have so many lakes,” said Mills.

The ministry's proposed regulation would only permit development within 120 metres, and that includes additions, land improvements, new construction, even septic beds, if an environmental assessment is done that demonstrates there will be no impact from the development on the body of water.

“This means that almost every building permit will require some sort of amendment and an expensive Environmental Assessment,” said Mills. “There is no justification for this.”

While the township is likely to take the ministry to the OMB over the 120 metre setback and the private lane development issue, a couple of other issues are basically set in stone, according to Mills.

One is the designation of Crow and Devil Lake as “at capacity” Trout Lakes, restricting development on those lakes to 300 metres from the high water mark. The second is the insistence by the ministry that no lot of record, as of the year 2000, may be subdivided into more than three lots. The township had asked that five lots be permitted instead, but Mills said the ministry will not budge on the issue and the OMB will likely back the ministry on it.

“What's the next step for this?” asked Councilor Mark Schjerning.

“We will have an open house with the public to discuss it and we will prepare a response to the ministry. If we can't sort it out, it will go to the OMB eventually. Meanwhile we are still governed by our existing Official Plan,” said Mills.

Budget complete, increase set at 2%

On Saturday, Council met all day to finalize the budget, and they settled on a 2% increase, according to Mayor Vandewal. One project that was altered was the fire hall in Perth Road. Instead of $2 million being set aside for the project, which was in the draft budget, only $1 million was included in the final version, on the expectation that the new hall will be smaller than the four-bay building that was proposed at a meeting of the Committee of the Whole in January.

Neighbours raise issues over Johnston Point Development

Helen Bartsch appeared as a delegate to point out that in her view, some elements of the proposed vacant land condominium at Johnston's Point, a bay off Loughborough Lake, does not fit with the Official Plan (OP).

According to Martsch, the OP says that the setback to A “Narrow Body of Water” must be 150 metres and a number of lots in the proposed development are 90 metres from the water. Bartsch also said that the developer did not measure setback to the “high water mark” which is also a requirement.

The development will the subject of an Open House in the township office on March 3.

Labbett aims to take the load off township.

Council is choosing to wait a bit longer to come to a conclusion on eliminating the amnesty load for 2015 and will reach out to the public over the next two weeks to get their opinion before making a decision.

Kyle Labbett, the Waste Management Supervisor, has been fighting to eliminate the amnesty load for a few years, suggesting that it puts too much stress on the landfills and can be difficult for attendants at the sites to manage. He says that when a site gets busy with these incoming loads the attendants are sometimes too occupied to thoroughly check the trailers coming in. Quite often the attendants are having to sort through the waste afterwards and pull items from the piles, or they’re burying things they shouldn’t be.

“There’s stuff that’s slipping through like e-waste, tires, etc.” Labbett said. “On a random weekend, 50 people would bring in an amnesty load and we wouldn’t be prepared for it.”

He also mentioned that “people are getting rid of things that aren’t garbage” just because of the amnesty load, suggesting that if there was a fee they might be more conscious of what they’re throwing out.

Councilor Tom Dewey put forth a motion to reach out to the public and see what their thoughts are. Council will be posting a report on their website with information on the amnesty load and is encouraging the public to participate in the conversation about the possible elimination of the free load.

Councilor Bill MacDonald said, “We need to have an in-depth discussion...no one knows what the ramifications will be if we have a closed landfill site in Central Frontenac...if we run out of space we’re going to be paying to truck our waste to somewhere else, and it may be Toronto.”

Mayor Smith said, “It’s a bigger article to get into that much depth.”

In 2014 there was a two-week window in the spring and a two-week window in the fall to take advantage of the amnesty load. Residents were allowed to bring one load per year, during either the spring or the fall window.

Winter roads too narrow

Kyle Labbett, who along with holding the post of Waste Management Supervisor, is also interim Public Works Co-ordinator, said that the roads department have been working hard to keep up with the snowfall. “Any roads we’ve received a complaint on we’ve prioritized and made sure we got in there first and got them done."

The township has been receiving the usual complaints regarding roads becoming too narrow and are focusing on winging them back. Councilor Dewey was frustrated that some of the roads up in Kennebec, for which plowing has been contracted out to a third party, are getting too narrow for two cars to pass and “then we have to send our [township] trucks out to plow the banks back. That to me is kind of a waste of money.”

Labbett explained that some of the smaller equipment has a hard time pushing the banks back far enough as the plows only extend past the tires a little bit and drivers risk being sucked into the ditch if they get too close to the edge.

Mayor Frances Smith said, “Maybe the moral to the story is that the contractors should have the right equipment to plow the road when it needs to be plowed and that’s something we maybe need to consider in future contracts...what piece of equipment will they be using to plow these roads?”

Councilor Jamie Riddell exopressed his appreciation to Labbett and the works department for a recent medical assist call, which the Mountain Grove fire hall responded to at 4:30am, in which they were able to quickly communicate with the roads department and have a specific road plowed and sanded within 5 minutes to help with their response time.

Some of the works department’s heavy machinery is now GPS-trackable as part of an insurance program with the Frank Cowan Company. The program will last three years and the equipment was given to the township for free.

Councilor Victor Heese inquired whether the GPS-data would be accessible by the public, specifically school bus drivers, who would be interested in knowing where the plow is. Labbett said “We don’t release that. We can go on and tell them that the plow is currently on Long Lake Road and is almost at Thompson Road and will probably be there in X [minutes].”

Councilor MacDonald stated “I think it’s a good move because it becomes a management tool...if there is an issue somewhere then the closest vehicle can respond.”

Council to investigate setting up police advisory committee

Inspector Derek Needham and Detachment Commander Karen Brown of the Frontenac O.P.P. Detachment, based in Hartington, presented information on policing in the township for the 4th quarter of last year. Both stressed that forming a Community Policing Advisory Committee (CPAC) would be beneficial to the council and citizens and would act as a conduit between the police and the community. This would help the council be more in tune with policing in the area.

Mayor Smith said, “I think it’s very important going forward that we have some communications.”

Inspector Needham also spoke about how the O.P.P. are working on programs in child education, internet safety and seniors fraud in Central Frontenac.

Councilor MacDonald expressed his frustrations that the O.P.P. hadn’t consulted with the township before policing in Central Frontenac was transferred from the Lanark to the Frontenac detachments, a change that took effect on February 1.

Inspector Needham reassured council that the same number of officers are still covering Central Frontenac and the change isn’t negatively affecting the service level in the township.

Three days were set aside last week for Frontenac County Council to hammer away at the 2015 budget.

In the end it took only two days for the council to accept not only the base budget proposed by County staff, but the extra projects that were proposed as well.

Staff had targeted a 2.8% increase in the amount that ratepayers will be charged for county services this year, based on the annualized consumer price index (CPI) that came out last October. The CPI is a standard that is commonly used in municipal budgeting, as that is when budgets start being put together.

They added a 0.65% capital levy in order to put money aside for asset management to cover for long-term replacement costs.

This resulted in the 3.45% target, and in his summation of budget, Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Pender said that the budget numbers reflected what is needed to maintain service levels.

“Our job is to bring you a budget that reflects the service delivery that exists,” he said.

He also described a long-term budgeting process that has been instituted, whereby increases will be predictably tied to the CPI with a 0.65% capital replacement cost added on, yielding a predictable 10-year projection of tax rates.

“Surprises aren't good in the budgeting world,” he said, in describing his approach.

Treasurer Marian Vanbruinessen presented the budget detail, contradicting Pender's assertion with irony; “I thought this was the most exciting part of everyone’s life,” she said.

Most of the debate at the two budget meetings last week centered on the nine project proposals that were included in the overall budget numbers that were presented, but which are outside the required functions of the county. They could have been set aside if council did not want to proceed with them.

The projects ranged in scope from $8,500 for a consultant to review the pay rates for members of council, to $270,000 to extend the K&P Trail to the north, with a view towards having it completed, from Orser Road at the border with Kingston, to meet the Trans-Canada Trail in Sharbot Lake by the end of 2016.

Other projects include: a $60,000 study of the cost impact of development on private lanes; $77,000 for Community Improvement Plans; $40,000 to purchase a 4x4 vehicle for use by the planning, economic development and GIS departments and for special County events; and $735,000 for the purchase of Power Lift stretchers for the Frontenac Paramedic Services.

Few of the costs associated with these projects will be taken from the 2015 levy to ratepayers. For example, all of the trail development costs come from federal gas tax rebates the county received in the past (all current and future gas tax rebates are transferred to the local townships for use on road and bridge projects).

The Power Lift stretcher project will be 80% funded by the City of Kingston, which is served by Frontenac Paramedic Services, reducing its impact on the county levy.

In the end, none of the nine proposals were rejected. The budget will come forward for formal approval at the regular February meeting of Council, which takes place next Wednesday, February 18.

Barring any last minute amendments, the increase will be 3.45%.

The county levy is included as part of the tax bill that is sent out by each of the townships. Local taxes, which are set by each township, as well as education taxes, are all combined to make up the municipal tax bill.

Frontenac County at 3.45% increase and South Frontenac at 2%

Frontenac County Council will contemplate a draft budget this week. Three days have been set aside for members of Frontenac County Council to go over the proposed 2015 County budget. The budget includes an increase of 3.45% in the amount to be collected by the lower-tier townships from residents to transfer to the County. According to calculations by the county treasury department, once assessment increases due to growth are factored in, the increase settles in at 2.97%.

The 3.45 % increase was the target for the budget, based on a 2.80% increase in the consumer price index that was calculated by Statistics Canada, in addition to a levy of 0.65% to fund the county's assessment management plan.

In order to reach that number, about $52,000 needs to be transferred from county reserves.

In total, the draft budget calls for Frontenac County ratepayers to pay $8.52 million for county expenditures in 2015, up from $8.27 in 2014.

The overall cost of delivering county services, which are subsidised by the Province of Ontario and the City of Kingston as well as county residents, is projected at $37.5 million.

Pity South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal and Councilor John McDougall.

Once they have undergone three days of county budget meetings they will celebrate by spending Saturday at their own council chamber in Sydenham, going over the South Frontenac budget with their SF Council colleagues. The South Frontenac draft budget, which is available online at Southfrontenac.net, includes an increase of 2% in the amount to be collected from South Frontenac residents.

School Board comes to the table over The Point

Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth brought news from a meeting with officials from the Limestone District School Board concerning the field at the Point Park. According to Segsworth, the school board is willing to play 50% of the cost of repairing the field and 50% of maintenance costs going forward. This was what the township has been looking for. The plan is to close the field after the spring season and spend a year and about $100,000 bringing it up to standard. The likelihood is that the school will make use of Centennial Park for most sports during the 2016-17 school year.

Mayor sees a long shadow from Ardoch Lake development

“These are precedent-setting decisions,” said Mayor Ron Higgins regarding how the township should move forward on a development proposal for Ardoch Lake. The Malcolm/Ardoch Lake Association (MALA) has requested that council hire an independent planner to research the environmental impact of the 34-lot vacant land condominium development proposed for the lake.

Ardoch lake Property Owners have already hired their own consultant, Gord Neilsen from Michalski Neilsen Ltd.

Neilsen, in his report on the proposal, said that Ardoch Lake is a “high-quality water lake” and that although his opinion is that the lake “can withstand some additional shoreline development ... the scale of currently proposed development is of major concern.”

Neilsen goes on to say that “changes in the water quality, recreational, aesthetic, fisheries and wildlife qualities of a lake, which can be brought about by excessive shoreline development, are generally irreversible” and that increasing the dwellings on the lake by approximately 400% must be approached with considerable caution. Mayor Higgins said that council needs to be “careful in how it navigates this proposal” as it will set the tone for how the township balances economic development with environmental concerns in the future.

Councilor Gerry Martin suggested that if the township was to bring on a consultant for this purpose it would be a bad decision to hire Neilsen as it could show a bias that might possibly work against them if the matter eventually finds its way into the court system.

There was some concern expressed about the cost of hiring a new consultant to prepare a similar study on the development and North Frontenac Planning Coordinator Jenny Duhamel said she is looking into the developer's responsibilities regarding covering the costs of such a research project.

Council also plans to consult with Joe Gallivan, the manager of Sustainability Planning for Frontenac County.
Mayor Higgins and Councilor Martin both said it is best if they step away from future discussions regarding the Ardoch Lake development due to a conflict of interest, as they both have residences on adjoining Malcolm Lake.

Strategic plan moves forward

Councilor John Inglis expressed a concern about the township's new strategic plan. In reference to the new plan Inglis said to Mayor Higgins, “I'm a little surprised by the process....a little nervous, [it seems] a little too centred on you”.

Higgins, who comes from a consulting background, explained how the plan was drafted based on the previous strategic plans and goals. He said that his approach in his first year as mayor was to not take on too much at the county level so that he could focus on implementing this new strategic plan, and expressed his comfort with the associated workload. A motion to go to the public with the new plan was passed with only a slight amendment; the term “balanced score card” was changed to “progress report.” The township is preparing to roll out the new plan in a series of town hall meetings as well as press releases.

War memorial well underway

Councilor Martin updated council on the progress of the war memorial. The cement footings have been poured and the next steps are on hold until the frost is out of the ground. Martin mentioned the possibility of obtaining a piece of military field equipment to have on site permanently as well installing some benches. There was some discussion as to whether it was feasible to have local soldiers' names carved into the stone of the memorial but some councilors raised concern about the difficulty of accounting for everyone and felt that missing someone on the list would be problematic to the public. All councilors present were very impressed by the memorial progress. Martin also said that one of his goals as councilor is to have archives set up for North Frontenac. “We are losing our history,” Martin said, “I'm passionate about conserving the important past of the area.”

He said there will be more news forthcoming. 

A year-round future for Bon Echo?

Officials from the Land O'Lakes Tourist Association, Lennox and Addington County, and Addington Highlands met with MPP Randy Hillier earlier this year to discuss the possibility of keeping Bon Echo Provincial Park open all year round. It currently closes in October and opens again in May. The plan is to have yurts - built with assistance from Algonquin College's construction program – available to rent as winter accommodations as well as snowshoe trails and other winter activities in the park. Yurts, circular, domed tents typically built on solid wooden bases, are easy to heat and ideal for this type of application. They are quite popular in other Ontario Parks that are open in winter, like Algonquin and Killarney. LOLTA reached out to North Frontenac council to see if they would be interested in having a representative from the township participate in the conversation. The council voted to have Councilor Fred Perry represent NF Township, with Councilor Gerry Martin as an alternate. Perry and Martin both have connections to the park.  

Jamboree – Council wants to know how much is being requested

Andy Anderson has been carrying on a campaign to save the Flinton Jamboree.

The annual event was founded and run, until last year, by Donna and Duane Thibault in conjunction with the Flinton Recreation Committee. The committee and the Thibaults have walked away from the event, and Andy Anderson is trying to keep it going. He came to Council this week seeking approval for a project to soundproof the roof over the Flinton rink, so the Jamboree could be moved under cover. Until now, the Jamboree has been held in a field behind the Flinton Recreation Centre.

Deputy Reeve Helen Yanch expressed a view that was echoed by other members of Council, telling Anderson, “I think that is a big project to take on. Let's just get the Jamboree back up and running this year. Why not use the trailer that was always used as a stage and hold it where it was held before.”

“We still need township support, to cover insurance, to get the recreation committee involved,” said Anderson.

“The recreation committee is a recreation facilities committee; it has nothing to do with events,” said Councilor Tony Fritsch.

If Andy Anderson was hoping that some of the people who organized the event in the past might want to help a new team of volunteers out, Donna Thibault, who attended the meeting, was not encouraging.

“The Flinton Recreation Committee has already decided not to go forward and not to support anyone who is planning to do it. I think they might let you use the trailer they have for a stage, I can ask them that, but that is all,” she said.

“What is the township willing to do?” Anderson asked.

“You haven't said how much you need” said Reeve Henry Hogg.

“I can get you that, I can put that together,” said Anderson, “but don't forget how valuable this event is for the businesses, even if it is not making a lot of profit.”

Security cameras rejected for Denbigh Rec. Centre

In response to a recent act of vandalism to the library drop box and the Addington Highlands Recreation Centre – Denbigh, Councilor Fritsch costed out a new set of cameras to cover that part of the building.

The cost of the two-camera system is estimated at $330.

“The question really is - will they be deterrent and not a target?” said Councilor Kirby Thompson.

Council evidently thought they would be the latter, and voted down the purchase.

Requests deferred to budget

Requests for $2,500 for Canada Day Fireworks from the Denbigh Recreation Committee, for $1.25 per resident from Land O'Lakes Community Services, and for up to $5,000 for a new roof from the Land O'Lakes Lions Club were all deferred to budget deliberations.

Committees need members from ward 1.

A number of committees require resident representatives and although residents from ward 2 have come forward for the recreation and public works committees, there have been no volunteers from ward 1. Interested residents are encouraged to call the township office.

Waiting for the fire hall

Fire Chief Casey Cuddy reported that the engineering firm and contractor involved in the construction of the new Northbrook fire hall will be coming to the hall next week and a letter of completion should be forthcoming. The fire department is in limbo right now, having moved trucks into the new building over Christmas and back to the old building in January, waiting for the contractor to sign off.

“We are paying heat and hydro in two buildings right now,” said Reeve Hogg. “That shouldn't be the case

Absenteeism at Fairmount Home concerns new council

Throughout the 2011-2014 term of council, former Frontenac County councilor, David Jones (Frontenac Islands), spoke at length and with considerable vitriol about the absenteeism rate at Frontenac Paramedic Services.

Now that Jones is gone, North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins seems to have taken up the torch, in a less aggressive way.

In response to the year-end absenteeism report for 2014, which was presented to Council at their January 21 meeting, Higgins said “When I see this report it appears there is a problem at Fairmount Home, but without some information about the size of the workforce, the percentage of absenteeism to overall hours, and possibly something to compare the rate at Fairmount to other similar-sized facilities, I really don't know what it means,” he said.

The report showed that the total hours lost to absenteeism at Fairmount reached a three-year high in 2014. 14,800 hours were lost in 2012; however, the number dropped to 11,519 in 2013, and then jumped to 16,040 in 2014.

By contrast, Frontenac Paramedic Services hit a three-year low in 2014, losing 18,923 hours as compared to 21,913 in 2013 and 19,653 in 2012.

The other category of worker covered in the report, those who work in corporate services at the county office, saw a return to historic levels after a spike in 2013. In 2014, 399 hours were lost to illness, as compared to 977 in 2013, and 481 in 2012.

Frontenac County ratepayers pay a small portion of the operating costs of both Fairmount Home and Frontenac Paramedic Services, which receive significant finding from the Province of Ontario and the City of Kingston. County ratepayers pick up the entire cost of Corporate Services, however.

County Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Pender said that staff are working on an improved absenteeism report.

“We recognize that the report does not give council members the kind of useful comparative information to help them provide proper oversight,” he said.

The other missing piece of information, according to Ron Higgins, “is any sort of root cause analysis of why people are calling in sick in these numbers.”

Community Paramedicine Initiative:

A pilot project to come up with a viable community paramedicine initiative for Kingston and Frontenac County, which received $158,000 in provincial funding, has seen half of the money spent on a study to be completed by a Queen's professor.

The $81,000 project includes research into existing paramedicine projects based on a detailed literature scan, a list of potential partners in the project. The contract will be completed by the inclusion of a “demonstration program logic model to guide implantation and evaluation of a demonstration home visit/wellness program aimed at addressing the needs of the community, and to support healthy aging in the home across the geographical area of the County of Frontenac and the City of Kingston,” to use the wording of the Queen's University proposal.

Councilor John McDougall was underwhelmed by the proposal.

“My difficulty with this is that we are going to get high level information back when the goal is to establish a solid framework for future core paramedic programs and a communication plan .... this looks like a lot of things we could already pull up from what has been done before,” he said.

Gale Chevalier, the Deputy Chief of Frontenac Paramedic Services who is leading the entire paramedicine initiative, agreed with McDougall, in part.

“You are correct, we went out with an RFP [Request For Proposal] to see if we could get all of the work done to get a program up and running, and no one responded to it. But one thing we do need done in any case is the research part, which is something we do not have the internal expertise to do, so this covers that part off. I agree this project from Queen's is not developing the communications link,” she said.

“They are going to do a literature review and provide information but the onus is still on you to move this forward beyond that,” said Councilor Natalie Nozzal (Frontenac Islands) to Chevalier.

“Communications is a large part of this. There will need to be budget money for that because Queen's will not deliver it,” said Ron Higgins.

“I still think that the part that Queen's is going to provide has already been done.” said McDougall.

Despite the stated reservations, Council approved a motion to enter into the $81,000 contract with Queen's. Councilor McDougall voted against the motion.

Perth Road fire hall

Ronald Awde, an architect from Bethany, Ontario, presented a report on prospects for a new fire hall in Perth Road. The first part of the report established first that the existing fire hall is inadequate.

“There can certainly be no question that the existing building is so totally inadequate for the purpose and is of such minimal quality of construction that it would be impossible to renovate or adapt in order to extend the life,” said the report.

Even the site where the existing hall is located was declared unsuitable, partly because of its location within the built up area in Perth Road and partly because it is too small. There are issues with the soil and the topography as well.

A brand new building on a brand new site was recommended, and the size of the proposed new four-bay building is 7,900 square feet, over twice the size of the existing building. The cost, depending on the final design, ranges from $2.2 million for a basic building to $2.5 million for an enhanced version.

In response to the presentation, Loughborough Councilor Mark Schjerning wondered if four bays are enough for the long-term needs of the department.

Fire Chief Rick Cheseborough said, “I feel that the size of the building will be adequate to the needs of the department for at least 20 years.”

“I think we need to include as much as we can, all the enhancements should be in place from the start,” said Schjerning in response.

Other members of Council asked questions about the options for layout of the building and other technical details. The cost was not questioned, however, perhaps because Council had been informed about it when they considered the 2015 capital budget two weeks ago. It included a $2.2 million line for this project.

Shoreline rehabilitation will mean loss of a sand beach at The Point.

Riggs Engineering presented a report and plan for a $100,000 shoreline restoration project at the Point Park. The plan includes replacing the existing wooden crib that forms a retaining wall on the water with a combination of stone seating and rock revetment, some grading and other landscape modifications, and the replacement of the existing sand beach with a pebble beach.

“The replacement of sand beach materials with pebble beach materials is not typically a desirable change, but is a reality of regulatory approval conditions,” said Brian Riggs in his report, adding that because sand is not native to the location and will need to be replaced at least once every two years because it will be washed into the lake, the conservation authority will insist on it being removed before granting approval for the project.

The project is likely to go ahead in the fall of 2015, after all the necessary approvals are obtained.

Chief Administrative Officer Wayne Orr said money for the project is available through the parkland reserve fund.

Partially maintained roads need more study

Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth presented a list of small gravel roads in the township that receive some maintenance from township road crews, but are not necessarily plowed in the winter. A consultant was hired to catalogue the roads, with a view towards determining what criteria should be used to decide which roads should be included for snow plow service and which shouldn't.

“It will take us another year to sort this out,” said Segsworth. “To be honest there is no rational explanation for why we do what we do now. Some roads have minimal maintenance, a grader once every two years. And there are other roads where we have full maintenance for no apparent reason. Maybe they are being done because of a handshake deal years ago, I don't know. We need to take a look at the whole thing and come up with a plan and a cost to make it consistent throughout the township.”

The Ladybush Lane conundrum

Planner Lindsay Mills brought the issue of Ladybush Lane, which is off Bedford Road, to Council's attention.

“The street sign for that lane keeps getting stolen,” said Mills. “It has happened five times. One option is to change the name of the lane; another is to eliminate the name entirely since there are only three properties and they could be named a, b, and c; and the third option is to leave it and replace the sign when we have to.”

“What do the signs cost?” asked Councilor Pat Barr.

“$150,” said Mark Segsworth.

“What about riveting the signs instead of just bolting them in place so it only takes a wrench to remove them?” asked Mark Schjerning.

“Does anybody have a new name in mind?” asked Deputy Mayor John McDougall, who was chairing the meeting in the absence of Mayor Vandewal.

No proposed names were forthcoming from Council and the matter was left for the time being.

Chain of office coming

Wane Orr reported that is will cost $5,000 for a chain of office that includes the crests of the four former townships, the township coat of arms, etc.

“I don't think we need to spend that $5,000,” said Councilor Alan Revill, and Councilor Ross Sutherland agreed.

“I think it is important. It is something we will have for 70 or 80 years,” said Mark Schjerning, and councilors Sleeth, Roberts, Barr agreed.

“We don't celebrate ourselves enough,” said John McDougall in expressing his support for the chain.

“We could celebrate quite a bit with $5,000,” said Revill. However, with a majority in favour the chain would seem to be a done deal.

Fire Report

Fire Chief Bill Young asked council to approve a request that was proposed to him by staff at the Granite Ridge Education Centre for the Central Frontenac Fire Department to fill a water storage tank at the school, which feeds the school's sprinkler system, as needed. The well at the school does not have the capacity to keep the tank filled, which is necessary to allow for the required weekly tests of the system. Council agreed to the request, which Young estimated would amount to roughly six loads of water per year at a cost of $110 per load. It is unclear whether this request will be ongoing or is merely required for the short term.

In his fire activity report for 2014, Young stated that the total number of fire calls, 231, was significantly down as a result of a sizable reduction in the number of grass and structure fires last year. The average number of calls per year is 350-375. Young also submitted to council the fire department's Long Term Action Plan.

Finances: In his financial report, Treasurer Michael McGovern's request to approve the investment of $500,000 was approved, as were the multiple financial reports that he submitted.

Cemeteries: In her cemeteries report, Cathy MacMunn requested that council approve amendments to the price list for the sale of interment plots, since they were not raised as they should have been in 2014. She also requested that the fees associated with the opening and closing of interment plots be raised from $275 to $360 since the fees have not changed in the last nine years. Council approved the request. MacMunn also reported that staff are looking into acquiring more land at the Parham cemetery and that plans are currently underway at the Oconto cemetery to increase lands available for more burial plots there.

Delegations: Mike Procter made a colorful presentation to council dressed as a pioneer settler and equipped with a tomahawk. He outlined the many events upcoming at this year's Frontenac Heritage Festival, which runs from February 13-16. He encouraged the councilors to get involved in this year's festival and handed out brochures outlining all of the festival events that will take lace over the holiday weekend

Angela Lee made a presentation to council requesting that the interest owing on unpaid back taxes on a 80-acre property located near Arden, which she recently acquired through family court, be reduced. Lee, who is raising four children, hopes to be able to sell the property at a later date. Council received her presentation for information and agreed to consult staff regarding the matter, with the promise to get back to her in a timely fashion.

Maribeth Scott, acting executive director with Northern Frontenac Community Services, requested funds from the township in the amount of $15,500 to help support the various youth programs that NFCS offers to youth in the community. She outlined the success of the programs that have been serving countless numbers of youth in the organization's catchment area. Council unanimously voted to approve her request.

Budget meeting date set

Council set Friday, February 20 as the day that they will spend reviewing the budget. It was agreed that a full day session will serve the councilors well in gaining an in depth understanding of the budget as a whole. The location of the meeting is yet to be determined.

Speed reductions and traffic lights

Council will look into two traffic issues that were brought to their attention by local residents The first was a request to lower the 80km speed limit on Long Lake Road in the section around the public beach area. The second was a request to have traffic lights installed at the intersection of Road 38 and Highway 7. In both cases council passed motions to have staff look into the matters and report back with their findings and suggestions.

OPP contract – not exactly negotiations

It's been almost six years since the Township of South Frontenac negotiated a contract for policing services. The council of that day expressed frustration that they were presented with very little in the way of options by the OPP contract negotiators.

As the current council contemplated the proposed contract from the OPP at their meeting on Tuesday night (January 20) they found there was no room for negotiations at all.

The cost of policing for the township this time around has been set according to the same formula as townships who do not have policing contracts and use what is known as 'status quo' policing, where service and staffing levels are determined by the OPP and there is no contract.

The old contract included provisions for a specific number of officers to be assigned to the South Frontenac detachment, but the new one only says that “necessary police service will be provided,” said township CAO Wayne Orr.

In fact, as Wayne Orr explained it, the only option for the township if council decides not to accept the contract as written, would be to either go to a status quo situation or “set up our own police force”.

What a contract does provide for is a police services board that participates in the hiring of a detachment commander, and receives regular reports about police activities in the township.

“The only thing we have the option of determining is the length of the contract,” said Orr.

Councilor Mark Schjerning said, “I think we should go with the contract in order to keep a police services board in place, which gives some public oversight. I think we should set a five-year contract.”

Councilor Norm Roberts said that since Council has a four-year term they should set a four-year contract.

A vote was taken on the five-year contract and passed, 6 votes to 3. Councilors Roberts, John McDougall, and Bill Robinson voted against the motion.

Building fees set to go up each year

It's a math formula worthy of our math column. Building fees will go up each year by the rate of inflation as calculated by the federal government each November. But in order to keep the fees at an even dollar amount they will be rounded off. The fees, which currently are $14 for each $1000 in estimated construction costs, will go up by 2% this year, which puts them at $14.28, which is then rounded down to $14. However, the figure $14.28 is still used as the base for next year. If the cost of living goes up by another 2% this coming November, the rate will go to $14.56 and the fee will be rounded up to $15 per $1,000 in construction costs.

“It is impossible to say for sure where the rate will go, but based on the way things have been, the rate should be about $18 in a few years, which could mean that the fees cover the cost of the building department,” said CAO Orr.

Chief Building Official Brian Gass said, “We did not raise fees for 12 years and then we had to bring in a large increase, which did not go well with residents. This would allow us to avoid that.”

Council approved the new fees and decided to re-examine the bylaw in two years' time to make sure it is working well.

Cycling in South Frontenac

Councilor Ross Sutherland, who cycled his way to election, informed Council that he is organizing a meeting in February or March to work on a plan to promote on and off road cycling routes in the township. He is hoping that a cycling map will be developed out of the process. Anyone interested in going to a meeting is invited to contact Sutherland at 613-274-7846 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..