Council concerned how Land Claim expansions will affect proposed park

Craig Bakay | Nov 25, 2020

Despite a sometimes shaky setup that was originally hard to connect to and at times difficult to hear (some of the councillors sounded like their telephones were on the other side of the lake), North Frontenac managed to hold its online Council meeting Nov. 20 and addressed a number of topics.

One of those topics involved correspondence from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests regarding the proposed Algonquin Land Claim proposed settlement for lands in Eastern Ontario and how the originally proposed areas have grown.

In particular, Mayor Ron Higgins expressed concern about what he perceived as a lack of consultation and how the proposed Whiteduck Provincial Park in the Crotch Lake area would be affected as well as public use of (what would become former) Crown Lands in the Gull Lake area for things like hiking, trapping, hunting and other outdoor activities.

“We haven’t been consulted on the park we’re supposed to be sharing with the Algonquins,” said Higgins. “We liked the park idea when it was presented a couple of years ago but now that the boundaries have been expanded, we have major concerns.”

“We were informed by telephone that the boundaries were going to be expanded,” said CAO Cheryl Robson. “It was my understanding that if there were changes, there would be more consultations.”

Robson suggested contacting the Ministry to see if someone could be available to participate in a virtual Council meeting.

“Put in a request that the Township be consulted,” said Higgins.

Noise bylaw

An amendment to the Township Noise Bylaw reading “An order issued under this Bylaw ‘may’ be set out” had Mayor Ron Higgins questioning the wording, as he argued that ‘may’ should be changed to ‘shall.’

“If someone has contravened the Bylaw, there should be an order issued,” he said.

CAO Cheryl Robson argued that to do that would take away the Township’s ability to settle the matter simply and amicably.

“Sometimes, we can resolve the issue with a phone call,” Robson said. “It’s like if you’re pulled over for speeding . . . the police officer has the discretion not to issue a ticket.”

Coun. Fred Fowler, who has considerable law enforcement experience himself, agreed with Robson, albeit a little more forcefully.

“Police officers are not mandated to lay every charge,” Fowler said. “The bylaw officer we hire . . . we should not take away their discretion.”

“Sounds like nobody agrees with me,” said Higgins. “Let’s move on.”

Snow Road Snowmobile Association

Scott Shepperdson, president of the Snow Road Snowmobile Club appeared as a delegation to Council to bring a couple of concerns to its attention.

First, he said, they’re having trouble finding enough qualified people to groom the 140 kilometres of trails in North Frontenac, a job he’s been doing himself a lot.

Second, he expressed concerns about the future of the clubhouse, which he said was at risk because with Covid restrictions, their main source of fundraising, ie breakfasts, as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, has been eliminated.

“We’re one of the few remaining clubs to even have a clubhouse,” he said. “Money from trail permits has to be used on trails.

“The clubhouse has to be self sufficient.”

Shepperdson asked if there was some way the clubhouse could be designated as an emergency shelter to receive some funding and Director of Emergency Services/Fire Chief Eric Korhonen said he’d look into it.

Sheppardson also asked if there was some way they could overlay the trail system onto Frontenac Maps so they could check what private properties they need to contact.

Conservation Authorities

North Frontenac passed a resolution for the province to raise its contribution to Conservation Authority projects to $6.6 million from $5 million and asked a provision in a new bill requiring all conservation board members to be chosen from area member councils be stricken.

“We would lose a lot of expertise if that were to happen,” said Mayor Ron Higgins.

Studying fireworks

In response to a letter asking for a ban on fireworks in the Township, Mayor Ron Higgins suggested further study perhaps compromising to allowing fireworks only on certain holidays.

“Some people really enjoy them and others don’t enjoy them,” he said. “Plus, we don’t want to take a revenue source away from our local businesses.”

Fire Chief Eric Korhonen said “many municipalities are moving to regulate fireworks and even require a permit from the fire chief.”

“It’s already November so I don’t expect it to be an issue for a few months,” said Higgins.

“It looks like another complaint-driven bylaw and most of them are unenforceable,” said Coun. Vernon Hermer.

Korhonen said he’d do some research and come back with recommendations.

School bus support

Council lent its support to local school bus companies and will write a letter to Tri-Board asking they rethink their request for RFPS.

The resolution also asks the Mayor to contact Tri-Board for a consultation.

“We’re very happy with the service we receive here and would like that service to continue,” said Mayor Ron Higgins.

Public Access to Mississippi River

Dep. Mayor Gerry Martin served notice that he intends to bring a motion forward to the next Council meeting asking for a budget item to create public access to the Mississippi River in Ward 2.