North Frontenac Council Jan 14/13

Jeff Green | Jan 17, 2013

Ompah fire station site gets clean bill of health

The property where North Frontenac Township is considering locating a fire hall in Ompah has finally been given the green light from the engineering company that was hired to complete environmental assessments on it.

The final action that was required under what is called a phase 2 assessment was the removal and disposal of some 15 tonnes of soil, which had levels of arsenic that the engineers, Malroz Inc. describe as “marginally above” provincially regulated standards.

The entire assessment process cost the township about $30,000, which will be taken from the monies budgeted for fire hall construction.

In related news, the Ompah fire hall task force met on December 20. At that time they toured the existing facility, along with Dan Koroscil from the Ontario Fire Marshall's office. After looking at an inventory of the hall's equipment and considering confidential reports from the fire chief and deputy chiefs from Ompah, Snow Road, and Plevna, the task force heard from Dan Koroscil.

He encouraged them to take a business-like approach to the decision about a new fire hall, and to focus their attention on the core fire services that the township is going to be able to offer in the coming years.

The first key decision that the tax force will make could happen at a meeting scheduled for today, January 17, when they are expected to discuss whether to renovate the existing hall and move the equipment around or to build new.

Among the factors that will play into that conversation are concerns over a declining population of permanent residents, and the fact that while the existing hall is “in good shape” it is too small for current operations and there is cracking present in the concrete from the weight of the trucks. On average 60% of the Ompah crew shows up for a given call and the response time is approximately 20 minutes.

More fire issues

While visiting the Ompah fire station, Dan Koroscil of the Ontario Fire Marshall's Office took notice of the vintage tanker truck at the station. Koroscil pointed out that the tanker does not have the sufficient baffling that is required by the National Firefighter Protection Association (NFPA) standards.

Since this fact was included in the minutes from the Fire Hall Task Force meeting that was before Council, another question of liability was raised.

“If that tanker does not meet the NFPA standards, we should be taking it off the road,” said Councilor Wayne Good.

The matter is further complicated by the fact that a similar tanker is in service at the Plevna fire hall as well.

“We did budget to have those tankers replaced, but that is in four years' time,” said Chief Administrative Officer Cheryl Robson.

“For me, taking those tankers off the road would be totally irresponsible. We are looking at one risk and not at the other risk, that being that we will no longer be able to fight fires,” said Councilor John Inglis.

“For me you have shown due diligence. You have recognised a problem, and if you show a plan to deal with that problem by bringing the cost of replacing those trucks into this year's budget consideration, you are mitigating that risk. From my experience with the Ministry of Labour, once you recognize the problem and take appropriate steps, you have dealt with the problem,” said Fire Chief Riddell.

Council passed a motion committing to taking the two tankers out of service as soon as it is practical.

Building stats down again in 2012

At first glance the building statistics for 2012, as contained in a report from Chief Building Official George Gorrie, look respectable. In 2012, 106 permits were issued, and over $90,000 in fees were collected for a construction value of $6.23 million.

However, when compared with 2011 and 2010 the numbers portray a downward trend. In 2010, 139 permits were issued, over $140,000 in fees were collected for a construction value of over $8 million. In 2011 permits dropped to 124, fees to $106,000 and construction values were $7.68 million.

The numbers of new residences, on or off the water, was 19 in 2012, down from 26 in 2011 and 33 in 2010.

Tough love for septic re-inspection avoiders

Council decided that in 2013, in addition to carrying out voluntary septic inspections on selected waterfront properties, it will institute a program of mandatory inspections for those properties whose owners who have not responded to the repeated requests for voluntary participation in the program.

In 2012, only 40 re-inspections were completed, out of a goal of 100 per year. The agency running the program, the Mississippi Rideau Septic System Office, reported that the rate of response to requests to conduct inspections dropped off to 30% in 2011 and 17% in 2012.

New provincial regulations allow for mandatory inspections, and in a similar manner to something Tay Valley Township has done, North Frontenac will begin forcing reluctant property owners to allow their septic systems to be inspected. Inspectors will have the authority to order repairs of replacement of systems where necessary, under the authority of the Ontario Building code.

Mississippi Valley Conservation (MVC) budget – North Frontenac will pay $24,122 towards the MVC budget in 2013, an increase of $527 over 2012.