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Feature Article - April 26, 2007FrontenacCounty to buy K&P Trail inCentralFrontenac
byJeffGreen
Members of Central Frontenac Council were surprised to hear this week that the County of Frontenac is getting into the trail business, in Central Frontenac!
At a meeting of the Frontenac County Council back on April 18, the prospect of using a recently received provincial grant to purchase the former K&P trail lands from the border between Kingston and South Fontenac to the village of Tichborne, including a 15-kilometre swath in Central Frontenac, was discussed. After an in camera session, a motion authorizing the county to proceed with negotiations for the purchase with Bell Canada, the current owner of the trail, was approved unanimously. County council is made up of the mayors of North, Central and South Frontenac, and the Frontenac Islands.
Central Frontenac Mayor Janet Gutowski informed her own council of the decision at a meeting that took place this past Tuesday (April 24). She said that the countyhad decided to purchase the line from Piccadilly to Tichborne, at a projected cost of $60,000.
It all started when the county received an unexpected grant from a provincial infrastructure program in late March. The $289,000 grant was earmarked for the purchase of the K&P Trail in South and Central Frontenac.
While South Frontenac has resurrected the idea of purchasing the K&P rail line with a view towards establishing a multi-use trail under the management of the Cataraqui Trail Foundation, Central Frontenac has put trail development plans aside for the past three years, for fear of taking on fencing and liability costs. At the time the grant was received, Gord Burns, the Clerk-Administrator for South Frontenac, acknowledged that Central Frontenac had not yet been approached about whether they want to participate, saying, “The next step will be to approach Central Frontenac Council to see if they want to join in and work towards a purchase of the line running from Piccadilly to Sharbot Lake.”
At a meeting of Central Frontenac Council in early April, it was decided that the township was not in a position to proceed with the purchase, and council asked only for $10,000 from the $289,000 grant for surveying trail lands in the Sharbot Lakearea.
When county council decided to go ahead with the purchase on its own, it also rejected Central Frontenac’s $10,000 funding request “The lands will be held in trust until Central Frontenac is ready to move forward,” Gutowski told her council onTuesday. “No one is pressing Central Frontenac to go forward and make any decisions at this time. This will just give us the opportunity,should we decide at a later date to develop a trail.”
“I’m quite surprised,” said Councilor Frances Smith. “My concern is, if we don’t buy it back from the county, we have no control over the uses.” Deputy Mayor Bill Snyder, whose home district of Hinchinbrooke contains thelands that are to be purchased, said that many people in Hinchinbrooke who live on properties adjacent to the former rail line are strongly opposed to the trail.
Councilor Gary Smith said, “I’m wondering if County Council isn’t trying to carveout a role for itself here.”Councilor Bob Harvey had little problem with the county initiative. “I think we should pass a motion thanking the county for acting on our behalf.” Other councillors supported Harvey’s motion, with the proviso that the motion include a request that the county offer up the land for sale to Central Frontenac.
The motion passed, with Councilor Philip Smith (Hinchinbrooke) and Deputy Mayor Snyder registering the only nay votes
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Feature Article - April 12, 2007South Frontenac Council
by Wilma Kenny
Property Standards By-law Enforcement
There was a lively discussion about the policy regarding property standards enforcement: at present complaints regarding property standards issues must be submitted in writing and signed by the complainants, before the township by-law enforcement officer investigates a situation. Councilors Stowe and Hahn were concerned that people don’t report possible violations because they fear retribution. CAO Burns said that this has always been a contentious issue. In theory, the by-law is intended to ensure that residents keep their properties in reasonable condition for health, safety and aesthetic reasons, so that they will not annoy their neighbours or devalue neighbouring properties. Once the by-law officer follows up on a complaint, the property owner is usually given 30 days to clean up the problem; possibly longer, depending on the situation. Burns said that if the by-law officer was instructed to actively look for violations, the cost of enforcement would escalate dramatically, and the township would be perceived as being overly aggressive. Council voted to retain the policy of having complaints regarding property standards issues be signed by the complainant prior to enforcement.
"I use my cars for storage, and some of them have chickens in them. And I like the looks of them," commented Councilor Fillion.
Parks Maintenance Contracts
Percy Snider, as low bidder of three tenders, was awarded the 2007/8 contract for cutting the Loughborough parks’ grass. On the cemetery board’s recommendation, Mr Snider was also awarded a two-year contract as caretaker of Sydenham cemetery. He was considered a ‘preferred supplier’ because he already has the necessary experience, and knows the layout of the cemetery.
STAFF ADDITIONS: Council agreed to hire a full-time Technical Assistant for the Roads Department, but decided not to create a full-time position for a third Building Inspector. They approved a one-year contract building inspector position. Councillor Fillion suggested that the township was headed for a downturn in housing, but the CAO pointed out that as of March, housing starts in the township were up over last year. In a close vote, that mirrored the results of a straw vote at a Committee of the Whole meeting a week earlier, Council decided to retain their contract with the KFL&A Health Unit to conduct inspections for sewage systems. There did not appear to be any cost advantage or saving of time to have the township staff take on this responsibility. Councillors York, Fillion, Robinson and Hicks voted against the resolution.
SALE OF SURPLUS LUMBER: The lumber left in the Fermoy Hall several years ago has been sold to the only bidder, Mr Rejean Leroux, for $1150.
NORTH FRONTENAC COMMUNITY ARENA FINANCING Council discussed a request to finance the arena building project over a 3-5 year period. They decided that while they agreed with the project in principle, they needed to see a detailed business plan before they could enter into a capital loan agreement with the arena. Currently, the arena has $385,000 pledged or raised over a 5-year period.
PRE-AMALGAMATION BORROWING: In response to a request from Councilor Fillion, Treasurer Deb Backen prepared a report into whether monies that Fillion claimed had been lent to Bedford and Loughborough Districts from Portland and Storrington Districts at amalgamation had ever been paid back.
Deb Bracken’s report stated, in part, "This will confirm that Portland Township ‘lent’ funds to Bedford and Loughborough near the end of 1997. The financial statements for Portland showed the amounts under investments...Interest was paid at the same rate as bank interest...It was understood by all parties that all bank accounts would fall under South Frontenac on January 1, 1998, and the loans would be balanced out at that point with no further interest."
There was no record of Storrington lending any money to Loughborough.
CAO Burns said he couldn’t imagine any amalgamation in the province would have had all parties bringing the same amount of money to the table. He also suggested that Council could make better use of staff time if they didn’t spend it revisiting issues that were resolved nine years ago.
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Feature Article - April 12, 2007Council concerned about the future of the Plevna library
by Jeff Green
The Clarendon and Miller hall has been a major concern for the North Frontenac Council over the pat few months.
First, a mishap during a repair job caused some damage to the library, which is contained within the hall, forcing it to close for about two months. An ongoing mould problem has also necessitated further work. The work has been completed and the hall has received a clean bill of health, but officials from the Kingston Frontenac Public Library have informed the township that the library workers’ union was still concerned about the effects of mould in the library on the books, and the library has been closed down once again, this time indefinitely.
Library hours have been extended at the Ompah branch to compensate.
Library representatives toured the municipal building at the former Ministry of Natural Resources site in Plevna, but said it was not suitable.
“We’re not sure what we have to do at the Clar-Mill Hall to satisfy their concerns,” said Councilor Fred Perry at last Thursday’s council meeting (April 19th) in Cloyne, “but maybe we should find a new location for it.”
The township will continue to look for a site and will try to find out what can be done to make the existing site acceptable.
WHY NO BRIDGE MONEY? - Guy Laporte, an engineer from the firm of Totten Sims Hubicki who has worked with the township on three grant applications seeking funding to make the Mississippi bridge a two lane structure, is having a hard time understanding why the township keeps losing out. He sent an email to township CAO Cheryl Robson as soon as he found out that the Ontario Rural Infrastructure Improvement Fund (RIIF) had denied funding. The project had previously been submitted to the COMRIF program on two occasions.
Mayor Maguire said that he understands Laporte’s frustration. “We have gone to the trough on this one with no success. We have in fact, wasted much time, human resources and money. Surely the ministry has to know or be made aware yet again that we keep spending precious taxpayer money on these applications and studies without getting anywhere, and that we can’t afford do the project ourselves.”
Council agreed to send a letter.
HELIPAD AGREEMENT Council approved an agreement between themselves and William Tebo, allowing them to clear brush and vegetation on his land so that a clear approach to the Ompah helipad can be established. This will allow the helipad to remain open 24 hours a day. With an agreement already in place to use the Tomvale airport, the township now has two emergency helipads available for air ambulance service.
CLAR - MILL COMMITTEE FORMED In the wake of the Fire Ladies disbanding, a new committee has been formed to carry on some of their activities in and around the Clar-Mill hall. It was approved by council, and the group’s activities in the hall, (pancake breakfasts, suppers, funeral lunches, etc.) will be insured by the township’s insurance company.
INSURANCE RENEWAL Council accepted a proposal by Thomson Lloyd Jardine to provide insurance for one year at a price of $68,752, an increase of $3,596 or 5.5% over last year. The increase was explained as being the result of a 3.5% inflationary increase plus some extra fees for changes in the township’s infrastructure, specifically the new fire hall. Staff was directed by several councillors to bring the renewal up earlier next year as they would like to consider putting it out to tender.
2007 BUDGET CAO-Treasurer Cheryl Robson told council that she expects to be able to bring a draft budget forward within the next few weeks for their consideration.
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Feature Article - April 12, 2007Central Frontenac dumps dump passes, adopts system of listsby Jule KochBrison
At Tuesday night’s council meeting, Central Frontenac Council voted to replace their current system of mailing free dump passes to all residents with a procedure whereby a catalogue of names would be kept at all dump sites and residents would simply “sign off” on the list.
The system of creating and mailing the passes out with the tax bills is extremely labour intensive and Mayor Janet Gutowski said that she has seen staff take as much as a week away from their other work in order to accomplish the task. Also, people sometimes do not receive their passes or they lose them. The matter then has to be investigated and passes re-issued.
Under the new system, residents will not have to possess or remember to bring a pass. The lists will be periodically compared to make sure that residents only sign off once a year, and the waste site attendants will ask for ID if necessary to prevent people signing under false names. Anyone signing more than once will receive an invoice from the township.
Hinchinbrooke fryer - A delegation from District 4 Rec. Committee attended the meeting to ask council to re-consider a request they had made for $8000 to purchase a deep-fryer and ventilation system for the canteen at the Parham Fairgrounds. According to Councilor Bill Snyder, the request had been removed before it ever got to council and he asked why District 4’s recreation budget was only around $23,000, when the other districts had much larger allocations. To that point Councilor Frances Smith replied that the rec. committee budgets include expenses for community halls.
Joe Dupuis, spokesperson for the delegation, said that the goal of District 4 Rec. Committee is to make things better for the children and that chips and chocolate bars are not the best things to offer kids during games. The equipment would also create some revenue for the committee, enabling them to be more self-sufficient.
The issue of security was addressed at length in the committee’s submission because the canteen has been broken into and vandalized several times. The committee members will install steel gates and do all the work necessary to secure the facilities.
Council congratulated the District 4 Rec. Committee for their accomplishments and voted to grant the request for $8000.
Waste Management - Council voted to seek input from the public in its waste management and recycling policies by establishing a steering committee to work with the township’s waste management consultant and prepare a report with recommendations by June 27, 2007. Several councillors said they knew members of the public who have considerable expertise in that area. They will be asked to submit applications to sit on the committee, which will consist of two councillors, three members of the public and one staff person. Mayor Gutowski said that Central Frontenac waste sites are feeling the impact of the demise of the Frontenac E-Waste Centre.
3% solution? - Councilor Gary Smith questioned a 3% increase in the draft budget for the salaries of councillors and staff, saying that the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) increase is only 2.3%. Councilor Frances Smith said that the 3% just gives the budget some “wiggle room”, and council may vote to give themselves a smaller increase or none at all. Township Clerk/Acting CAO John DuChene suggested that council finalize the matter at the April 24 meeting, and council agreed.
Surprise grant - After the County of Frontenac received a grant for $289,000 towards developing the Trans-Canada Trail, they contacted Central Frontenac and asked if the township could utilize $10,000 of the grant money “to facilitate trail acquisition”.
“We were surprised by the call,” said Mayor Janet Gutowski, adding, “$10,000 won’t go very far, but if money is starting to flow we should investigate it.” The money would be used to determine the boundaries of the K&P trail in the Hamlet of Sharbot Lake, as “looking at Sharbot Lake to Harrowsmith involves major issues. A lot of people are against it,” said Councilor Bill Snyder.
Council voted to request the money from the county.
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Feature Article - April 5, 2007Letters to the Editor
Save a life – know the warning signs of a stroke
Last Saturday evening after a happy family Easter celebration, my 83-year-old mother suddenly had difficulty speaking – her speech momentarily became garbled. The difficulty passed within about 2 minutes, but the term “mini-stroke” did come into my mind; unfortunately, the word “act” didn’t accompany it.
My mom seemed totally fine afterwards, and because we both were in denial about the possibility of a stroke, it was 4 hours before I phoned Telehealth Ontario and was advised to take her to hospital.
When finally confronted by the crowded waiting room and the tired triage nurses, the notion of going back to a comfortable bed was briefly tempting. The good news is that hospitals take stroke symptoms very seriously. To my amazement, within 15 minutes of arriving at emergency, my mother, chatting cheerfully and the picture of health, had been whisked past other seriously injured patients who had been brought in by ambulance, and was being examined.
The diagnosis was a TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack) or “mini-stroke”. It is a warning sign that may precede a larger stroke. My mother will be seeing a stroke specialist, but looking back, the scariest part of the whole experience was how small the voice was that was saying, “Check this out”, and how loud the voice was that was saying – “You’re just imagining things - she’s fine – it’s midnight - everybody go to bed and get some sleep.” My delay in taking action could have had very serious consequences.
Becoming familiar with the warning signs of stroke is not difficult to do, like learning CPR - and it might prevent death or serious disability for you or someone you love. If given within three hours of the start of symptoms, a clot-busting drug can reduce long-term disability for the most common type of stroke.
So if you, or someone you are with, has one or more of the following signs, even if only for a little while, don't delay! Immediately call 9-1-1:
Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
Sudden, severe headache with no known cause
It is very important to take immediate action. Check the time so you'll know when the first symptoms appeared – you will be asked for this information.
If you're with someone who may be having stroke symptoms, expect the person to protest—denial is common. Don't take "no" for an answer. Insist on taking prompt action and immediately call 9-1-1.
For more information visit the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation at www.heartandstroke.ca or call 1-888-473-4636.
- Jule Koch Brison
Fix our roads
I recently read the article written by the woman who complained about the state of our side roads. To be honest, I agree with her. I live in the village of Parham and often drive my husband to work on these "side roads". Not only is my car feeling the effects of all the potholes and dips and heaves in the road, but so is my wallet. Shocks, struts, tires and sometimes even rims, don't come cheap. This winter, I was driving my husband to work up Long Lake Road and spun out and hit the street sign. My car is feeling the dent, not to mention that my 1 year old was in the back seat. A road that is not in the greatest of conditions even on a bright, dry, sunny day, can become much worse in the rain.
Bell Line Road is a major issue. Every corner and straight stretch on the windy road through the landscape is constantly in need of repairs or grading. Potholes and bumps and heaves and wet muddy conditions are nothing to be "proud" of. Our township really needs to do something in order to maintain our roads. At this time, there is a Children's therapeutic children's residence on Bell Line Road that requires staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, rain or shine. I cannot count the number of times that staff and the owners have called the township to complain of the road conditions on Bell Line Road, let alone any other road in our township.
Long Lake Road is an emergency access road for all three of our emergency services. What I want to know is, that if these roads are as bad as they are, what is the township going to do about it? Our emergency vehicles, I'm sure, have a hard enough time accessing some of our roads, and yet come winter time, they are poorly maintained. It will not do anyone any good if our roads are not updated and emergency vehicles are unable to assist anyone in distress.
As I understand it, some of our issues with these roads do not always come to the attention of the appropriate person within our council. Not only is our township an unappealling one in some ways, it will not bring more businesses or new residents in unless we come into this century. I do plan on contacting our township and raising these issues at a council meeting. I hope that all who read this will open their mouths as well. This township cannot resolve our issues if they are not brought to their attention.
Just something for everyone to think about.
- Sarah Aulis.
RE: That’s the law, Jeff Green - April 5/07
While the tongue-in-cheek nature of the original article was probably well received, the ham-fisted ill-considered attempt at prolonging the humour penned by councillor Norm Guntensberger in collaboration, apparently, with Mr. Green himself, points up the lack of informed commentary and critical analysis of the ridiculous cost of these new fire halls and the misguided spending priorities of the current and previous township councils.
Almost a million dollars is being spent on two glorified garages -- a million dollars out of recent annual tax revenues of $4 million. Apparently a well-maintained road doesn’t look nearly as impressive as a great big fire hall in publicity photos or personal CV’s and those salt domes are just dog ugly.
While the root of the problem lies with the previous council and former Mayor Bill MacDonald, the new council seems bent upon continuing with this insanity. Before amalgamation, had the original townships been forced to replace their fire halls, you can be assured that much less expensive alternatives would have been found because quite simply the money to build half million dollar edifices would not have existed.
Kennebec Township built its own fire hall with local labour just before amalgamation. Granted, it doesn’t have a meeting room because the township hall, which is just down the road, is intended for that sort of activity. And it may not have ‘his & her’ handicapped washrooms (the necessity of which begs more questions) but these details don’t add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars unless graft and gouging are in play. The Kennebec Fire Hall has all the features necessary to keep the fire fighting equipment warm and dry and ready for instant use. In the event of a disaster, the township hall is available and easily equipped. I can count at least three such spaces available in Sharbot Lake, which makes the need for emergency space at that new fire hall completely redundant. As reported in this newspaper [May 18/06], the previous council was advised that North Frontenac Township built a four-bay fire hall for about $300,000 in 2006, which includes $35,000 worth of work performed by township crews, which means that their building actually cost a little more than half of what was spent in Sharbot Lake or proposed for Mountain Grove.
More to the point, a perfectly appropriate building could have been constructed in Sharbot Lake by local contractors using locally purchased materials for significantly less than the price paid. Such a building can also be constructed in Mountain Grove. There are endless statistics that show how much money spent in a community benefits that community, but instead we subsidize Belleville while our roads fill with potholes. Isn’t it curious how the township literature promotes patronizing local businesses.
But we’re only scratching the surface of this seemingly endless stupidity.
When the province mandated domes to prevent salt leaching into ground water from stock piles of winter sand, funding for four salt domes and two fire hall palaces wasn’t available so council decided to amalgamate the four existing township garages, closing Arden and Sharbot Lake, which instantly caused a significant decrease in road maintenance in Kennebec and elsewhere.
Trucks and graders now drive thousands of miles over the course of the year just to get to where they used to start from, considerably increasing operating costs, shortening the life span of the vehicles and adding endless hours of unproductive labour costs while significantly decreasing the amount of time the crews actually spend maintaining the roads. Not only that but the two remaining garages had to be extended to house the extra vehicles.
Once again our tax dollars fly away down the highway to benefit some other community.
Two multi-bay garages were abandoned year round because of salt issues four months of the year. For those affected, four months of salt issues equal 12 months of lousy roads.
While one salt dome has been constructed in Hinchinbrooke, the one slated for Mountain Grove that necessitated the closing of the Arden garage, has yet to be constructed and has, according to a report in this paper been “deferred”. The $465,000 fire hall in Mountain Grove? It’s still going ahead.
So once again the ratepayers of Kennebec, whose previous township councils were diligent enough to look after their priorities as well as their budgets, are forced to suffer year round with lousy, dangerous roads while seeing their tax dollars subsidize the profligate spending of a council whose priorities always seem to lie elsewhere.
But here’s the best part - the Sharbot Lake municipal garage now stands empty, about 100 feet away from the new $500,000 fire hall.
- Patrick Maloney
Re: Uranium mining
The Frontenac News article of April 5 contained several (unintentional, I suspect)inaccuracies. Natural Resources Canada is not a mine regulator and has no role in uranium mine development. The independent agency, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission regulates very carefully all aspects of uranium mining in Canada. There is little ambiguity when the CNSC gets involved. Removal of bulk samples can bea trigger. Uranium deposits in Ontario, Bancroft andElliot Lake, are all less than 0.1% (not 1%). Uranium metal is indeed heavy, but in nature it ispresent as alighter oxide.Common chemicals are used to extract it from rock in a milling process. Most of the radioactivity remains with the residue - the tailings.
There is no record of "a series of (tailings) spills in Elliot Lake, starting in 1975" as quoted fromMining Watch. The statement that seniors in Elliot Lake would be less concerned about radiation exposure than young persons has no validity.I would expect thatpersons of all ages who live comfortably and safely in Elliot Lake may be offended by this viewpoint.
No shortage of uranium supply? In the very near future demand will far exceed current production supply, especially since there are many valid (including climate change) reasons why generation of electricity from nuclear power will significantly expand.
- Grant Feasby, Tichborne
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Feature Article - April 5, 2007Central Frontenac budget 1.2% tax hikeby Jeff Green
Township staff found savings in some road maintenance budget lines to bring the Central Frontenac Township budget down 2.5% in the interim between the last two budget meetings, dropping a projected 4% increase down to 1.5%.
Much to the relief of several Olden area firefighters attending the latest budget meetings, Council did not kick at all when Fire Chief Mark MacDonald presented a fire budget that included a $465,000 expenditure for a new fire hall in Mountain Grove.
MacDonald explained that the current fire hall, which was supposed to be a temporary hall when it was created in the 1970’s, has deteriorated significantly over the years, to the point where the heating system no longer works, and there are significant health and safety concerns with the building as it stands.
“It would cost $50,000 to try and improve the existing hall, but even then it would probably not be brought up to the health code,” MacDonald said.
Mark MacDonald met with the Olden Fire crew on the night before the budget meeting to finalise the specifications for the new building, and said he is “pleased to say that a consensus was reached on what is needed, and to say that with the help of the firefighters we have found some savings for the taxpayers while still coming with something that will serve the township for the next 50 years.”
Councillor Frances Smith interrupted Mark MacDonald as he continued to advocate for the fire hall by saying, “You’re preaching to the converted, Mark. We’re building a new fire hall in Mountain Grove this year.”
Asked when he expected the building project to be completed, MacDonald said, “We’re hoping to be in the new hall in time for venison.”
Council continues to consider their 2007 budget, which they expect to adopt by the end of the month.
At this point, it seems clear that it will not include a significant tax rate increase, although certain projects have been deferred, such as the building of a new salt dome. The township’s reserve funds will be down from last year, to $1.7 million.
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Feature Article - April 5, 2007Addington Highlands Councilby Jeff Green
HUGHES LANDING ROAD – Gordon McCulloch, a resident of Hughes Landing Road, was accompanied by about 10 neighbours as he appeared before council to present some written questions about the extent of planned repairs to the road.
He congratulated council on the receipt of a grant to re-build the Skootamatta and Hughes Landing Road intersection, but wanted to know if the grant will affect the township’s commitment to repair the four-kilometre stretch of Hughes Landings Road that ends at the Skootamatta bridge. He also wanted to know about the township’s commitment to fix the Hughes Landing and Sheldrake Lake Roads on the far side of the bridge, where, he said, “most of the 31 permanent residents live.”
“We don’t expect a response today,” McCulloch added, “but we would like to hear back sometime in the near future.”
“There is work needed on many roads within the township,” said Reeve Henry Hogg with a smile. “I thank you for your written questions and we’ll get back to you.”
In terms of the $900,000 Rural Initiative grant, council decided to refer the matter to the 2007 budget process, which gets under way next Tuesday at 1 pm in Flinton, in order to develop budget plans and guidelines.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY – Ruth Peck requested that council waive whatever fees they could for the Flinton Habitat for Humanity build. “Many other communities have done the same for other Habitat projects,” Peck said, “and it would make a real difference to the project here if Addington Highlands Council could see fit to do the same.”
A motion was proposed whereby building and plumbing fees would be waived for the project. It was approved without dissent.
CANADA DAY FIREWORKS – Alex Chisholm from the Land o’ Lakes Lions Club gave a similar presentation to one brought earlier to North Frontenac Council concerning plans to bring a fireworks display to Mazinaw Lake on June 30th this year.
“At our voluntary tolls on the Canada Day weekend, the most frequently asked question is ‘Where is the beer store?’; but the second most frequently asked question is ‘Where will there be a fireworks display?’”
As the Lions move forward with their plans, they are requesting a $1,500 sponsorship from Addington Highlands towards the cost of the display.
The matter was referred to budget deliberations.
COUNCILOR PAY – The reeve will be paid $18,000 per year, the deputy reeve $15,000, and councilors $10,000 after council approved changes to the procedural bylaw.
GRADING UNDERWAY in south, not yet in the north – Roads Superintendent Royce Rosenblath reports that grading has been taking place on roads in the south end of the township as mud replaces ice on many of the gravel roads. In the Denbigh region, there is still too much frost in the ground to do any grading. “You can’t get a grader on any of those roads in the Denbigh region until late April, and you don’t do much good until May,” he said.
SENIORS OF THE YEAR – If council informs the Ontario Minister Responsible for Seniors of their selection for Senior of the Year by the end of April, the ministry will present a certificate of appreciation to that person. This information has just come to council, and it was decided that an attempt should be made to accommodate the deadline.
Accordingly, members of the public are requested to contact the township office by Monday if they know of a suitable candidate. So, if you know a senior that has been an active volunteer in the township, let the office or your local councilor know as soon as possible.
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Feature Article - April 5, 2007South Frontenac Township
by Wilma Kenny
Organizational Review to Precede Waste Master Plan Discussions
Last year, CEO Gord Burns prepared an organizational review that addressed the various issues still to be resolved in the township’s progress toward amalgamation. To date, this has been discussed only in camera. Burns announced that an updated version of this review has been completed, and may be brought before the Committee of the Whole next week. (April 10) Council agreed unanimously to defer any recommendation concerning the development of a Waste Master Plan until further discussion of the organizational review. There was general consensus that any attempt to amalgamate waste services across the township would be complicated and controversial, and might well require public meetings.
BAG TAGS YES, GREY BOXES NOCouncil agreed unanimously to maintain the status quo on bag tags for this year (100 a year per household, different colours for each district), but only councilors Hicks and Hahn supported a motion to provide an additional recycling box to each household, in order to simplify the split stream recycling.
TOWNSHIP’S OFFICIAL PLAN TO BE REVIEWED, REVISED
Council approved Planning Coordinator Lindsay Mills’ recommendation to hire Ainley Consulting Engineers and Planners to undertake a review and revision of the Township’s Official Plan. This is in accordance with the provincial requirement that township plans be updated every five years. Public consultation is an important part of the process: the projected schedule anticipates public open houses in August or September, to accommodate seasonal property owners.
FRONTENAC ARCH BIOSPHEREIn their annual report, the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve noted that over the past two years, they have brought over $350,000 into the region in the form of grants and contracts. However, as none of this money goes toward the management expenses of the biosphere organization itself, Council voted to give them a grant of $500. Councilors York, Fillion and Robinson were opposed. By the end of this month, all of South Frontenac Township will be included in the Biosphere Reserve.
PITCH-IN WEEK BEGINS APRIL 23!Snow’s gone (almost), but it’s left behind a whole winter’s worth of roadside garbage. We can all help by picking up a big yellow and black garbage bag (from Trousdale’s in Sydenham, Lions Hall Verona, and other local outlets - phone the township for the one nearest you,) and filling it with roadside junk. (Just please, save the aluminum cans aside for recycling - they help fund our waste programs!)
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Feature Article - May 31, 2007Reality bites into CentralFrontenac road construction plans
by JeffGreen
A couple of months ago, as they considered their 2007 budget, Central Frontenac Council spent the largest single block of their time considering the road construction budget. At $561,000, it was the largest piece of discretionary spending they were faced with.
Based on paper estimates using information stemming from a four-year-old road standards survey, they came up with a list of eight projects to be pursued, at a total cost of $535,000, leaving $36,000 for cost overruns.
That was then.
Now, a report to council from road staff member Steve Reynolds and part-time consultant Bryon Dawn, based on an analysis of the actual costs of the eight proposed projects, estimates them at about twice the original cost, or $1,035,000. The report recommends doing only the first three projects in 2007: the Cranberry Lake Bridge, which has already been completed at a cost of $115,000; a re-paving and rehabilitation project on 4.0 km of the Arden Road (estimated at $165,000); and reconstruction and excavation on 1.2 kilometres of the Oak Flats Road ($250,000).
It recommends deferring proposed projects on Tryon, Shibley, Fall River, Zealand, and Elm Tree Roads for 2008, and completing a five-year reconstruction plan.
Councillors were generally discouraged by the news.
“We spent a fair amount of time discussing road construction projects,” said Councilor John Purdon, “and now we see that the numbers were underestimated. It leads to the question - are these numbers over-estimated? Do we have confidence in these figures now?”
“It was a bit of a surprise to me as well that the costs are way up, especially for the blasting and the removing of rock,” said acting clerk John DuChene.
Bryon Dawn replied, “We found out that the Golder numbers were not accurate. The original GRIPPS estimates are basically maintenance estimates; they are not based on improving roads, which is what we are looking at doing.” Golder is an engineering firm that developed GRIPPS, a system that evaluates the relative state of repair of roads. All of the Frontenac townships have used this system to evaluate their roads.
“This totally undoes all the good work we’ve done in balancing the needs of all four districts. Could we not scale down our projects, just widen some curves, and make the roads a bit safer? We have a lot of roads, and many of them are unsafe. To put all our money into two roads, so we have 5 km of high standard road, when we have 650 kilometres of roads - I don’t know about that,” said Councilor Frances Smith. “To spend $250,000 on Oak Flats Road and tell everyone else their road is on a five-year plan - if you’re living on a road with a bad corner, five years is a long time. Maybe we should stick with the Cranberry Lake bridge, which is already done, and spend $400,000 on maintenance.”
“Let’s take Oak Flats as an example,” said Deputy Mayor Bill Snyder. “This is basically priced using all contractor labour, without our staff doing anything. It could be done differently; it could be done cheaper.”
“I agree with Bill,” said Councilor Jeff Matson, “A lot of this could be done a little cheaper.”
“Maybe we need to get a tender out for Oak Flats to find out the actual cost,” suggested John DuChene.
“We could get one out in a couple of weeks,” Bryon Dawn offered. “You don’t have to proceed with a tender if you don’t like the price you get, but until you go to tender you really don’t know what things are going to cost.”
Recent history has shown this to be true. Tenders for construction projects at both the North Frontenac Arena and the medical centre in Sharbot Lake have come in much higher than the estimated costs, forcing changes in the financing of both projects.
Councilor Gary Smith remains optimistic that more than three construction projects can be completed this year. To a motion that adopted the staff proposal, he added an extra clause asking that reports come to council as the numbers are firmed up, in the hopes that they will be lower than estimated. If that turns out to be the case, perhaps the next item on the priority list, a $90,000 project on Tryon Road, could be considered.
Facilities repair listBased on the 2007 township budget, council received a list of facilities repairs that have been approved. The $154,000 worth of projects includes $15,000 for the Arden Hall, $40,000 for the Olden rink, and $7,500 for bleacher, canteen, and washroom repairs to the Sharbot Lake Ball Field.
“How and when are we going to do these things?” asked Councilor Frances Smith, to no response.
Burn Barrels – Council received a letter from Heather O’Reilly of Arden, a follow up to a presentation to council nine months ago concerning burn barrels. O’Reilly advocated for the banning of burn barrels, which is something other townships have done, citing environmental impacts from low temperature burning.
“The barrel burning issue was left with members of council with a response that they would investigate and follow up on our concerns and complaints. I am requesting an update on the status of the barrel burning issue,” she said in her letter.
Mayor Janet Gutowski recommended that the barrel burning issue be referred to the newly constituted township waste management steering committee, but committee chair John Purdon had reservations.
“I have difficulty seeing how we can deal with this issue. It is really space in our landfill and our recycling program that we are concerned with, not burning. I think the fire department is more appropriate.”
“It is primarily a health issue, not a waste issue,” said Gary Smith. “Maybe we should get an updated report from the fire chief.
“This is a global issue,” said Councilor Guntensperger, “there is a problem with burning garbage in terms of air pollution. We should consider taking this on, even if it is unpopular.”
An updated report will be sought from Fire Chief Mark MacDonald, and the waste committee will look at it as well.
Letter on Trails – Council received for information a letter from Mel Conboy concerning the resurrection of the rails to trails movement in Central Frontenac. Conboy owns a farm on the section of the K&P line north of Highway 7 that the township developed years ago. A few years ago, he asked the township for a fence, and the township had to comply, because of conditions in the Line Fences Act.
In his letter, Conboy reminded council that in all cases where trails abut farms, the Line Fences Act still calls for fencing at township expense. He wrote that he is aware of at least two farms “in walking distance from the township office” that would qualify. Further he states that fencing costs are now $30 per metre, and other costs related to trails are prohibitive as well, leading him to conclude the township should not be in the land ownership business at all.
“I think we should pay attention to what he said in his letter,” said Deputy Mayor Snyder.
Re-use day proposed – In another letter to council, Jocelyn Steeves recommended that the township consider having a day “in which residents could put out various items at the end of their driveways, which were still good but of no use to them.”
The proposal was referred to the waste management steering committee.
Newlove leads to Thunder – Council agreed to name a previously unnamed lane, which runs off of Newlove road, Thunder Lane. The company that developed a series of lots at the end of the lane on Thompson Lake has thunder in its name.
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Feature Article - 31, 2007Letters to the Editor
Denbigh Waste Management Site
Closing the Denbigh Waste Management Site will: - cause the entire population of the most densely populated section of the northern half of the township to drive further, consuming fuel and producing greenhouse gases, for waste disposal; - cause waste that would have gone into the most environmentally safe site in the township to go to less desirable sites. Whatever is going on? Could the township council request that Mr. Morish come to a council meeting and explain how closing the Denbigh site benefits the environment? Surely the Ministry of the Environment exists to protect the environment and, surely, Mr. Morish's directions to the township council are informed by the imperative to protect the environment. I, unfortunately, cannot fathom the subtleties of protecting the environment by causing an entire section of the township to drive more. The Denbigh Waste Management Site has hills on three sides and no through water course. Surface runoff is minimal because the amount of land drained is also minimal. Furthermore, containing the runoff is not difficult because all the runoff occurs at a single point. As I understand it, these are the very reasons that the township council, wisely in my opinion but apparently not Mr. Morish's, is considering expanding the site. The Certificate of Approval for the site is at least 14 years old (I was on the township council in 1994 and the site was operational then) and probably older. The site is, therefore, "over capacity" based solely on an old, probably arbitrarily established, Certificate of Approval, not on any actual physical limitations. Well before amalgamation, this small rural municipality and its residents were active, and successful, recyclers. The waste sites have been superbly maintained for at least the last 15 years. Have we been wasting our time? Perhaps Mr. Morish could consult with his superiors to confirm that his actions are in keeping with the goals of the Ministry of the Environment. Frankly, I think that an "update" from Mr. Morish to the township council is much more in order than the other way round. Personally, at this point I can only conclude that the township council is behaving much more responsibly with respect to the environment than Mr. Morish and, by extension, the Ministry of the Environment. It is my contention that the Denbigh Waste site is the most environmentally and ecologically sound option available: - it is naturally able to contain the waste and leachate; - it has ample volume to accept current and future waste; - it is the closest site to the majority of the populace. Mr. Morish, what are you and your superiors thinking? What are your goals? What are you trying to accomplish? I would certainly like to know. At the moment I see nothing more that an arbitrary, unjustifiably punitive bureaucratic diktatimposed without reason or compromise on a small rural municipality and its people. Given the apparent urgency you attach to the issue, I am sure you will agree that it is also reasonable for us to "want an update" from you and/or your superiors "on the site within a week or two". Paul Isaacs
Re: “No joy in Sharbot Lake for young ballplayers”
I read this article in your May 24 paper and was disheartened to read the comments from our Mayor “Janet Gutowski”. There were several comments from the mayor in the article concerning the state of the Sharbot Lake ballpark’s bleachers and benches.
“I came to look at the park a few weeks ago” and “You can’t bring children into this kind of hazard” Then why weren’t the repairs made or at least a plan put in place to have the necessary repairs done? Why - because the mayor “thought there were no teams playing here this year” and she “didn’t realize how urgent the situation was.” What about the local schools and families that use the ballpark? Do they not deserve the right to use a safe facility?
Then towards the end of the article Mayor Gutowski says, “Recreation facilities are township assets”, “and they are a “township responsibility”. “One way or another, we need to make sure they are safe.” One way to make the Sharbot Lake ballpark safe would have been to accept the proposal made by James Webster.
If the proposal had been accepted, the benches and bleachers would be safe and games/ practices wouldn’t have to be cancelled. The proposal would have seen all the work done by volunteers, donations, and with materials paid by funds Mr. Webster has raised. But instead the Sharbot Lake ballpark sits, not as an asset to the township, but indeed a very dangerous liability and somewhat of an eye sore for those who spend summers and visit families in Sharbot Lake. Oliver Scott would be ashamed to see the condition the ballpark is in. Mr. Scott, as most any ball player can recall, is the founder of the field and an admired volunteer who dedicated many hours to make this ball field a place for all to enjoy.
Perhaps the mayor and council should look at regularly scheduled safety checks/maintenance of all recreation facility/equipment throughout the township.
If you want to bring visitors to the village and you have a fully maintained baseball field, you are then able to host tournaments and organize them on a field that is not a hazard. A baseball tournament can raise money for your recreation committees and many patrons will visit the area businesses.
As a baseball player, a coach and a parent I hope that our council means what they say when they want recreation to thrive, and keep our kids active. You can’t do either under these conditions at the Sharbot Lake ballpark.
Adam Peters
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