Frontenac County Council has developed an obsession with finding a home for $3.5 million in reserve funds that had been accumulating in their working fund reserve, which in the municipal world is the equivalent of a checking account.

Early this year, based on advice from a consultant, the council determined that this money could be put to other uses, and some members of council argued that the money should be simply transferred to the local townships to help cover the cost of road and bridge repairs.

However, at a Committee of the Whole meeting in May, the council decided instead to divvy up almost all of the money into several different pots, for use on future projects.

When those allocations were brought forward to the formal council meeting for ratification a couple of weeks later, some council members objected, arguing that not enough discussion had taken place.

The matter was deferred a month, and during last week's monthly council meeting (June 18) a further Committee of the Whole session was scheduled to tackle the matter.

This time, each of the allocations was discussed and voted on. The result was the same as in May and the decisions will again be sent to the formal council for ratification, this time in July.

CAO Kelly Pender, using the example of the largest pot of money, $1.5 million for seniors’ housing, outlined the kind of financial model that would be required before any of that money would actually be spent.

The proposed reserve allocations are as follows: $1.5 million to seniors’ projects; $100,000 for waste management planning; $500,000 to economic development; $200,000 to capital asset management requirements; $340,000 for capital commitments under cost sharing agreements; $380,000 for Frontenac Renovates (a program to help residents in older homes); $30,000 for land acquisition – trails; $154,000 for future Community Improvement Plans; $100,000 for an energy retrofit project.

While it would seem that the decision of the Committee of the Whole would be replicated at Council since they have the same makeup, a quirk of voting may come into play.

At Council, South Frontenac Mayor Gary Davison has two votes since he represents the most populous township, but he only has one vote at the Committee of the Whole.

Votes at the Committee of the Whole on a couple of the proposals, including the $500,000 for Economic Development, were close and might have been different if Davison had two votes, so the votes might go differently at Council in July.

Fire Services Save Life

South Frontenac resident Randy King spoke to Council of his heartfelt thanks to Fire Chief Chesebrough and the volunteers of South Frontenac Fire Department. He described how their prompt and appropriate intervention saved his life during a sudden health crisis in early June.

Speakers Series Proposed

Geoff Sandiford of the Frontenac County Sustainability Advisory Committee introduced the committee’s new chair, Tracy John. He then spoke of their proposal to set up a series of speakers this fall to address ‘subjects that matter’ to residents of each of the Townships. He said they wanted to know what topics Council felt would be relevant to their local communities. Councillor McDougall said that at the annual meetings the Township had held with local Lake Associations, there seemed ongoing confusion about the roles of the Stewardship Committee, the Conservation Authorities, and the Ministry of Natural Resources; perhaps an evening that included representatives from each of these agencies would be useful for the lake associations.

The rest of Council agreed: no one offered any other suggestions, although Sandiford had listed a number of potential topics including: car share programs, volunteering, solar hot water heaters, septic alternatives, seed banks, environmentally conscious movie nights, and community revitalization. Mayor Davison thanked them for coming, and said they ‘had planted the seeds’ of a number of ideas for engaging the residents in our communities.

New CAO

County Warden Bud Clayton introduced Kelly Pender, new CAO for Frontenac County. Pender spoke of the importance of the County and the Townships working together in partnership.

Request to Lease Township Property

A resident of Harrowsmith has asked Council to consider leasing, with an option to purchase, a small parcel of Township land in the village of Harrowsmith. He says he is renting a neighbouring apartment, and would like to park his RV on the property. After a brief discussion, Council agreed unanimously that they intended to retain the land in question, would not consider leasing it, and if they should at some time decide to sell it, they would contact adjoining landowners to see if they had any interest in the parcel as a lot addition, for it is too small to be considered a separate property.

Chip Wagons

Further to recently expressed concerns about the chip wagon bylaw, the Corporate Services Committee has recommended three changes to clarify the bylaw: 1) specify that licenses are issued by the Building Inspector, not Council; 2) state that chip wagons should not be located within 500 meters of a business where similar products are sold unless there is written consent from the permanent business, and 3) eliminate the suggestion that any vendor can simply make application to Council for an exemption from any provision of the bylaw. These recommendations will be brought to Council as part of a consolidated bylaw, and once passed, a copy will be issued to all current license holders.

Mandatory septic inspections on the Central Frontenac agenda

Since February a committee of volunteers, Councilor Jeff Matson, and staff from the septic office of Kingston Frontenac Public Health have been meeting regularly to talk about how to set up a program to inspect all 4,000 or so private septic systems in Central Frontenac over a 10-year period.

John Duchene, retired township Chief Administrative Officer and Kennebec Lake resident, presented an interim report from the committee at the council meeting this week (June 24).

Duchene said that the committee looked at a number of other jurisdictions who have implemented similar programs, which have become permissible with changed in provincial legislation in recent years.

Currently the township employs the Mississippi-Rideau septic office to conduct voluntary inspections, and Duchene said, “Really we see this as an extension of that process.”

The first step in establishing a program would be an information gathering process, updating information about systems that are over 15 years old.

“Public Health has good data for those systems that were installed in the last 15 years, but the data deteriorates for the period before that," said Duchene, “so finding out what is out there is a big first step.”

Even though the program, as envisioned by the committee, would include all systems in the township, priority would be given to those systems over 20 years old, systems within the vicinity of lakes, and systems in built up areas where contamination of the groundwater could have the greatest effect on neighbours.

Inspections will likely cost $140 on average and Duchene said there are many ways to finance them, either through a direct charge to ratepayers, through a septic levy on the tax bill, or by some other means.

Duchene suggested that the committee will bring more details to council about what they will be proposing in the coming months.

In response to the report, a number of councillors raised issues.

Councilor John Purdon said that in Tay Valley, only properties on highly sensitive lakes are included.

Councilor Tom Dewey suggested that the septic pumping contractors could also have the job of inspecting systems.

Councilor Norman Guntensperger then said, “I have to say I am sitting here wondering if anybody else is feeling uncomfortable about a lot of what is happening today … enforcement is not a minor thing. We are talking about families potentially losing their homes.”

Gord Mitchell, from KFL&A Public Health said, “In 29 years that I’ve been involved with this, not one person has been forced out of their home. There are ways to mitigate the impacts and to work with people. That is normally how it is handled.”

“For myself I am also concerned about the vulnerable people but I am also concerned that we must find a way to ensure that the systems are all safe,” said Mayor Janet Gutowski.

“Are we required by any law to do this?” asked Guntensperger.

“Not at this point,” said Gutowski.

The report from the committee was received for information.

Kids of Steel a go despite council concerns

Greg Kealey of the Ottawa Triathlon Club came to council seeking permission for intermittent road closures of Road 38 during the cycling portion of a planned Kids of Steel Triathlon in Shabot Lake on Sunday morning, July 27.

The Triathlon is to be part of a five-race competitive series called the Triathlon Ontario Youth Cup. The Sharbot Lake site was used last year by the same group, and is well known in Ontario Triathlon circles for Kids of Steel races that took place there in the 1980s and 1990s.

One hundred and fifty kids between the age of 6 and 15 took part last year and Kealey expects more in 2014.

“We made mistakes last year by going to the County, which we thought was the right place to go, but now we know we need to come to the township for permission.”

The primary objective of the triathlon is to promote physical activity among children, and efforts will be made to recruit local children for the event, Kealey added.

A number of councilors expressed concerns about the road closure, and made suggestions about seeking an alternative route, for the cycling to be done on trails, etc.

Greg Kealey said that he is willing to look at alternatives, but if none can be found he did need to know if the road closure would be permitted because if not he would seek a new site.

“I can’t take a chance on finding out we can’t hold it here once we get close to race day and I will have to cancel the race entirely, cutting the race series down from five to four at the last minute,” he said. “Overall I felt we had a good response last year from the local community.”

Other races in the series are scheduled for Ottawa, Guelph, Dunrobin, and Lakeside.

“Given the history of this location, and the ideal layout, we are keen to hold this one here,” Kealey said.

Mayor Janet Gutowski said, “I feel I have to point out I did receive complaints last year, including from the restaurant at the beach about access being closed off for customers, and the township was never informed. I also heard from people who loved it, I should point out.”

In the end the road closure was approved, with Kealey promising to seek an alternative route if possible and committing to putting up signage about the road closing well in advance of the race.

For more information about the race, go to www.bytowntriathlon.com or call Greg at 613-323-5255.

Noise bylaw exemption on hold

A request from the Mazinaw Lakeside Dine and Recline on Highway 41 for an exemption to the township’s noise bylaw for events on each of the three summer long weekends was opposed by a couple who have a seasonal residence near the resort.

The couple, who drove up from Hamilton for the meeting, said that on two occasions so far this year, one in March and again on the Victoria Day weekend, the noise has been excessive.

“We have been pretty patient, but the noise has increased each time. The amplification has increased. We thought we'd better make our point before this becomes hell on wheels,” one of the couple said.

“It is difficult enough to have a business in this area and we don’t want to discourage anyone,” said Reeve Henry Hogg, “but if the neighbours aren't being taken into account it is a problem. I can see asking people to put up with one event per year, but at some point consideration must be given.”

“We are not the only ones who have a problem with this. We have friends among permanent residents who don't want to make waves, but the sound really is something else. I'd rather hear a Skil-saw going over pavement,” said the other person.

“I think we should say no to this request and communicate to them that we would agree to one event per year,” said Councilor Tony Fritsch.

“On Victoria Day they didn't even ask for an exemption,” pointed out Councilor Helen Yanch.

Nonetheless, Council did decide to reject the request for three exemptions while indicating to Mazinaw Lakeside that a request for a single exemption would likely receive a different response.

Trouble brewing on County Road 41

A section of Highway 41 located south of Highway 7, where the highway is owned and maintained by Lennox and Addington County, is facing the possibility of flooding if a beaver dam on Raccoon Lake lets out.

Public Works Manager Royce Rosenblath told Council that when the road was worked on by the county a couple of years ago, a culvert underneath was blocked.

“We need to find the end of that culvert, which is not only 30 metres long but goes under the road at a 45° angle, to get it unblocked before something happens,” said Rosenblath, “ but it won't be an easy job.”

“If they caused this, don't they pay for this work to fix it?” asked Deputy Reeve Bill Cox.

“No, not for this,” said Rosenblath.

“But if the road is washed out they will have to deal with that,” Cox said.

“They would, but we would like to avoid that.”

Rosenblath also said that calcium will be applied to gravel roads in the township between June 23 and July 15 for dust suppression purposes.

“We have to make sure we don’t put it on before a rain, Rosenblath said.

Sewage backup at Denbigh Community Centre

Councilor Tony Fritsch said that for a third time, coincidentally always on a Saturday, there was a septic backup at the Addington Highlands Community Centre-Denbigh.

The problem was dealt with the following Monday, with the help of a contractor, but “we are baffled as to the cause of this, although there is a bit of a belly in the pipe as well as two 45 degree turns in it before it reaches the tank, we think.”

The situation will be monitored for now.

“We hope it doesn't happen again, but if it does we will have to deal with it. It costs each time, of course,” said Fritsch.

Slow down at fire hall construction site

Fire Chief Casey Cuddy reported that uneven rock underground at the site where the Northbrook Fire Hall is being constructed is slowing down the project.

“They didn't see this coming when they first looked at the site,” Cuddy said, “and because of it they had to sink pipes in the ground, which has slowed things down.”

“Will this put the price up, or is it something they should have anticipated before bidding?” asked Bill Cox.

“They haven't said anything,” said Cuddy.

On another issue, Cuddy said that the Napanee Fire Department, which has been providing dispatch for Addington Highlands, is getting out of the business. Cuddy said that AH is looking at entering a contract with the Kingston Fire Department, which is what Napanee is going to do.

Cuddy said he will talk to the Belleville department as well.

Meeting was opened with one minute’s silence, to honour the memory of Debbie Bracken, who for many years was Township treasurer.

Banking Bid Decided

Treasurer Fragnito reported that, of the five proposals from area banks, two stood out from the rest: National Bank and RBC. After satisfying interview requirements, she and CAO Orr recommended continuing the Township’s banking relationship with the RBC: “…we both strongly felt that…although National Bank offered the best net position to the Township, there would be a loss functionality and internal controls.” Council agreed to enter into a five year agreement with the RBC, with an option to renew for a further two years.

Surplus Money

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) announced in May that they had surplus funds from Gas Tax money set aside for administration, and would be distributing, on a one-time basis, the unused funds back to municipalities to invest in infrastructure. South Frontenac’s share of $14,937.65 will be allocated to the Township’s Federal Gas Tax reserve until a project is chosen.

ComplIance Audit Committee

Amendments to the Municipal Elections Act require Council to appoint a committee to review written complaints about campaign finances. Council approved the appointment of three qualified applicants: Roxy Dennison-Stewart and Christine Bell, both of Loughborough, and Sandy Cameron of Bedford.

“We Need a Policy”

A proposal for a Storrington subdivision draft plan hit a snag over a comment from Public Works advising that 712 metres of municipal road between the firehall and the subdivision entrance should be surface treated by the developer.

Public Works Manager Segsworth said this was based on the projected increase of traffic over this portion of gravel road, citing similar requirements for passing lanes and upgrades to intersections which developers have been required to provide before gaining approval for other projects. Planner Mills confirmed that there were provisions in the Planning Act which would allow this.

Councillor McPhail agreed that if such improvements were required, saying they should not become a burden on all taxpayers. Mayor Davison and Deputy Mayor Vandewal both said that although the road upgrade sounded like a good idea, the Township needed a clear policy before requiring a private developer to upgrade a public road.

Council voted to defer a decision to forward the draft report to the County, pending further discussion.

Township sets ambitious goal for energy conservation

Chief Building Official Jeremy Neven has been working on an energy management plan for the township. The provincially mandated process required an audit of energy consumption by the township, followed by an action plan to make improvements.

The plan's ambitious target is a 5% reduction in consumption of fuels and energy each year until 2020.

Current energy costs in the township exceed $130,000 per year, and if successful the management plan could bring that down to $100,000, barring increases in energy costs.

But there will be costs to implementing the plan, although those are generally one-time costs and the savings will accumulate over time. One anticipated addition are solar photovoltaic systems on “all corporate facilities with sound, south-facing roofs” said Neven’s report.

“I can see how we can achieve 5% in the first year or two, by finding the easy fixes, etc. but I think it will be difficult in the 5^th and 6^th years,” said Councilor John Purdon.

“This is a living document and subject to change,” Neven said. “We had to pick a target and I thought we might as well pick an aggressive one.”

Council approved the document, which is expected to have budgetary consequences in 2015.

Sustainability speaker series

Frontenac Islands Mayor Dennis Doyle and Dr. Barry Gilbert, a Wolfe Island-based member of the Frontenac County Sustainability Advisory Committee, made Central Frontenac the first stop on their tour of township councils. They are promoting a project in support of a project the committee is bringing forward, a community speakers series.

“Our idea is to engage with residents of Frontenac County on subjects that matter to them, creating opportunities for residents to connect with others and improve their communities” said Dennis Doyle.

The advisory committee will co-ordinate the events and work with the townships on promotion, and Doyle said that they needed to find out what topics would be of interest in the different townships. Examples of topics include: developing resilient communities, helping homeowners find environmental solutions, local living and eating, climate conscious communities, etc.

“We are hoping to hear from your council or community members about what would be of interest in Central Frontenac before we go any further,” said Dennis Doyle.

Building season underway, finally

Permits for $935,000 in construction, including three new residential units, catapulted in May, 2014 well over either of the last two years ($587,000 in 2013 and $373,000 in 2012).

It is particularly important for the township because it comes after the worst first third of the year in construction permits in recent memory.

The cumulative value of construction between January and April was $345,000, a far cry from the $1.75 million at the same time in 2013 and $1 million in 2012.

With the strong May, construction at this point in the year is now on par with 2012 while still almost $1 million behind the stronger 2013.

“It does give us some hope that we will have a solid summer,” said Neven.

New building bylaw harmonises with South Frontenac

Based on the new Ontario Building code, Jeremy Neven has revamped the township's building bylaw.

The new bylaw includes provisions for partial building permits, which Neven said will be useful when people are ready to get started on a project but do not have everything in place for the entire permit. It also allows the township to abandon permits that have been taken out but not acted on, sometimes for years, and puts permit fees and regulations in line with those in South Frontenac.

“A number of builders work in both townships and it will save frustration for them to deal with a single set of rules,” said Neven.

After time for public comment, the bylaw will come back to council in August.

MVCA Addresses Watershed Issues

Most of the populated areas of North Frontenac are contained in the Mississippi River watershed, as are the bulk of the larger lakes in the township, including Mazinaw, Shabomeka, Mississagagon, Kashwakamak, Big Gull, Buckshot, Palmerston, Grindstone, Crotch, and many others.

At a meeting of North Frontenac Council in Plevna on Monday morning (June 9), Matt Craig, manager of planning and regulations with the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA), outlined some of the extensive monitoring work that MVCA does in North Frontenac.

North Frontenac residents are lucky that funding for the MVCA is provided on a population basis. Because the Mississippi spills into the Ottawa river, residents of the City of Ottawa pay the bulk of the MVCA operating costs. North Frontenac, which contains 32% of the watershed territory, pays only about 1% of the municipal levy to MVCA, $24,300 in 2014.

In terms of direct spending in the township, MVCA will be spending $357,000, most of that on water control structures and flood forecasting, as well as over $50,000 on water monitoring this year. City of Ottawa residents, as well as those in Lanark County, benefit from this work as well, because the water flows from North Frontenac into their lakes and rivers.

Among its responsibilities MVCA manages dams owned by themselves, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ontario Power Generation. Of the 19 dams in the Mississippi watershed, 13 are located in North Frontenac, including one of two power-generating dams on the river.

In his presentation, Craig focused on the water quality monitoring programs that MVCA runs. In addition to ongoing water level monitoring provided by stream and lake gauges as well as staff effort, the Watershed Watch program provides a report on water quality in major lakes in the watershed on a 5-year rotation. Watershed Watch reports for Ardoch, Big Gull, Crotch, Kashwakamak, Malcolm, Mosque and Pine lakes will be completed this year.

MVCA also has a major role in municipal planning, particularly as far as site evaluations for shoreline development is concerned. A recent report, dealing with almost all of Frontenac County (i.e. those regions covered by MVCA, as well as the Rideau and Cataraqui Region Conservation Authorities), concluded that the “guidelines have been effective,” Craig told North Frontenac Council. “It found that the 'ribbon of life' is the most important element to shoreline stability and water quality, and this has been reinforced with science.”

One of the missing elements to the work done in North Frontenac and elsewhere by MVCA is a lack of information about the status of some large marshlands in the watershed, and to address this a focus on sub-watershed analysis is being developed. As well, putting all the data that is collected by MVCA into a coherent format that can be used by municipalities, landowners, lake associations and others, has been a challenge.

“There is a lot of data, but much of it is in different formats and in different databases. We are working towards putting it into an accessible format, so we can use it and so can the public,” he said.

Who will pay for Canalodge subdivision mess?

North Frontenac Council has decided to follow the recommendations in a report by Green Galloway to ensure water access to people who have purchased lots in the ill-fated Canalodge subdivision on Norcan Lake in the north-eastern corner of the township.

The projected cost of the construction is $30,000. The work is only necessary because the subdivision’s developer, David Hill, did not live up to a site plan agreement with the township that was one of the conditions of receiving zoning and planning approvals from the township.

“The money for that will come from the hold back of funds, I expect. What happens when that hold back runs out?” asked Councilor Lonnie Watkins.

“We have to do it anyway,” said Deputy Mayor Fred Perry.

Councilors were more or less satisfied that since the township received $27,000 when the project was approved as a hold back until the developer lived up to his commitments, there would only be a $3,000 cost to the ratepayers.

“We will make every legal effort to get that money from the developer. We have all sorts of expensive ways of recouping money. The township may end up owning a lodge,” said Mayor Clayton, referring to the lodge on the property.

To further complicate matters, a member of the public, one of the lot owners in the subdivision, piped in. “I'm not paying any of that out of my taxes,” she said, then added “and it's $30,000 not $3,000. You paid him back the $27,000 because he told you he had done the work but he hadn't.”

Clerk Jenny Duhamel confirmed that the $27,000 has been paid back to Mr. Hill.

Council approved a motion to going ahead and do the work.

News but no news on township office remediation.

A report from Chief Administrative Officer Cheryl Robson outlined where things stand with the township office, which was damaged when a heating oil tank on the second floor leaked in early January. Information about the cause and insurance claim regarding the leak is being kept confidential. The engineering company in charge has said that environmental remediation is complete and no more threats remain.

Now that the remediation is complete, the engineer will provide a cost to put the building back in working order to the township’s insurer. That will take two weeks, and the insurance company will then provide the township with options.

Since the township has also received a report about the liability of that building and options for replacement, which was commissioned before the leak took place, the whole matter will come to a special meeting of council, likely some time in July.

Good news in Snow Road

The Snow Road Community Centre has received a grant from the Kingston and Area Community Foundation, which has enabled them to purchase a home theatre projector, screen and Bluray player. Combined with the centre's arrangement with Storm Internet, it will provide for movie nights and perhaps more fitness classes at the hall. As well, when the carpet in the hall was removed it caused a problem with acoustics, and the hall committee will be installing sono-pan panels to fix the problem.

“More moves than a can of snakes.”

Mayor Davison made no secret of his disapproval that all townships except South Frontenac will now be using the County planners. He pointed out that South Frontenac Planner Lindsay Mills’ comments on the County’s proposed Official Plan revision had led to some valuable changes that would not otherwise have come about. Councillor McDougall had earlier commented that if the townships and the county all use the same planners, “There’s nobody to push back.” Davison also asked what the County Planners had been doing with their time the over past two years, if they have time to serve all four other townships. County planning services to the townships from now on are to be done on a full cost recovery basis.

Portland District Quarry Question Addressed

In March, a public meeting was held regarding an application for an Official Plan amendment which would allow a quarry on Petworth Road to expand its operations. One member of the public wondered why her family was not permitted to create a new residential lot in proximity to the quarry, yet now the quarry company is proposing an expansion in proximity to the residences: she wondered why the rule didn’t work both ways. Accordingly, the township wrote to the Ministry of Natural Resources, asking that any decision on the proposed expansion be deferred until the Official Plan and rezoning applications have been finalized.

Planner Mills brought his interpretation of the MNR’s reply to Council. The MNR confirms that the licence indeed cannot be issued until the township has amended the Official Plan and the Zoning by-law to permit it. Mills added that section 6.20 of the township’s Official Plan states: “Where possible, influence areas will be based on Provincial guidelines. Council, through the review of development applications within influence areas will ensure that land use compatibility issues are addressed.” Mills summarized that: “Ultimately, the problems of coexistence…have been recognized in both the Aggregate Resources Act and the Planning Act and a process (for their resolution) has been well set out.”

Portland Heritage Committee

Councilor McDougall reported that the structure of the stone school house has been assessed as secure. The committee is presently planning their contribution to the County’s 150th celebrations next year.

Volunteer needed

Mayor Davison said the County is still looking for one more volunteer for their 150th celebration planning committee. Interested individuals should contact either the township hall, or the county.

Summer meeting schedule

Unless further need arises, Council will meet twice during the summer: Tuesday July 8, and Tuesday August 5.

Not so fast for Denbigh hall free rental

A citizens' group put together by Denbigh's Paul Isaacs held a town hall meeting in Denbigh recently. They decided that they would like to meet periodically and submitted a request asking the township to waive the hall rental for all their meetings.

Council was less than enthusiastic.

“I don't have a problem with waiving the rental on occasion, but to waive the fees for unknown meetings about unknown topics, I'm not sure about that. We do have an elected council and they are always free to come to us,” said Deputy Reeve Bill Cox.

“I'm not sure they aren't setting themselves up as more than they really are,” said Councilor Adam Snider.

“I did get a call from the MOE [Ministry of the Environment] saying they had been contacted by them and the MOE wanted to know if they represented Council,” said Public Works Manager Royce Rosenblath.

A motion to receive the request for free hall rental was received by council. Councilor Tony Fritsch voted against the motion.

“I'd like to make a another motion that we send a letter to them explaining that we can't just give them free space, but when they want to meet they can ask for free rental each time as long as they send us the agenda and we know what they are planning to discuss,” said Bill Cox.

That motion was approved.

Tables for Denbigh Community Centre

Councilor Fritsch asked if Council would approve a purchase of six utility tables for the Denbigh Community Centre. He said that the hall was rented to Elections Ontario for an advance poll this week but when they arrived there were no tables and chairs.

“We managed to find some for them to use, but if we are going to rent the center it does need a few tables and chairs,” he said.

Council allocated $1,000 to the purchase.

New grader on the way

The contract for a new grader was awarded to Nortrack at a price of $317,000, less $23,000 as a trade-in for the grader that will be replaced, for a total cost of $294,000 plus HST. $325,000 had been set aside for the purchase in the 2014 budget.

“How old is the grader we are trading in?” asked Councilor Adam Snider.

“It is 25 years old,” said Rosenblath.

“It cost $100,000 and the cost was covered by a grant from the MTO [Ministry of Transportation],” said Reeve Hogg.

“So, $23,000 is not a bad trade-in after all that time,” said Snider.

Labour troubles?

Council went in-camera to discuss a personnel issue in the Public Works Department.

Sydenham: No More Water Exemptions

The township has recently received new enquiries requesting exemption from the Sydenham Water system. These may have been triggered by the recent increase in water rates: by 2016, a non-exempt residence that is not hooked up and/or is not using the water system will be charged a monthly rate of $104.57, vs the exempt rate of $66.37, a difference of $458.40 per year.

When the system was being set up, exemption requests were considered by Council on an individual basis if the cost to connect were deemed to be “unduly burdensome for the owner.” Total costs including frontage charges and well abandonment had to total more than $25,000. Only a few exemptions were granted.

Some applicants claim their request for exemption was never answered. Current staff can find no records to confirm or deny this. CAO Orr says the original intent of the exemption process appears to have been tied to the debenture calculation, which was finalized several years ago.

Council passed, without discussion, a bylaw revoking the exemption by-laws of 2002 and 2008, stating that they bewlieve all previous applications for exemptions under these by-laws were considered at the time, and that any outstanding exemption requests under these by-laws will be considered denied. The vote was unanimous, with the exception of Councillor McPhail, who abstained.

Long Swamp Road Closed

Public Works Manager Segsworth was granted permission to temporarily close the seasonally maintained Long Swamp Road, pending assessment of the structural integrity of the bridge, and the costs necessary to maintain the existing structure. The bridge is due to be replaced within the next 6-10 years, at an estimated cost of $400,000. However, it has been completely submerged this spring because of the heavy runoff, and there are concerns that the wooden plank decking may have been seriously damaged. Segsworth expects to have a report on the state of the bridge by the July 8 Council meeting.

Council also approved the Public Services Committee’s recommendation “that staff engage additional resources to develop criteria and identify liability with regards to increasing service levels on partially maintained roads.”

Energy Management Plan

Council endorsed Public Works’ Energy Management Plan: Segsworth introduced the ten-page document, a plan required by the Provincial Green Energy Act, by saying “It’s the right thing to do.” The plan will be published on the Township website and paper copies will be available by July 1st.

Cell Towers

Council endorsed Madawaska Township’s motion asking the Federal government to implement a moratorium on installation of cell towers and antennae until they have accepted a safety code that considers “the biological, non-thermal effects of microwave technology on the health of Canadians,” and until it “adopts a truly democratic process for locating new cell towers.”

‘Glendower' Now Official

Council passed a motion brought forward by Councillor Barr from the Bedford Recreation Committee, to replace the old sign on the district hall with one that reads, “Glendower Hall, Township of South Frontenac.”