North Frontenac Council - Mar 12/12

Jule Koch Brison | Mar 15, 2012

North Frontenac discusses septic inspections

Dave Cook and Ed Gardener of KFL&A Public Health attended the meeting to discuss discretionary sewage system maintenance inspections. The difference between mandatory and discretionary is that mandatory inspections are only required where there is a municipal water system, and there are none in North Frontenac.

However, the Ontario Building Code also provides the framework and process for a municipality to develop discretionary septic inspection programs, for which they can pass by-laws "with some teeth", in the words of Dave Cook. He said the township can designate systems in certain areas or over a certain age to be part of the program.

Councilor Fred Perry asked if, since many cottages take their water from lakes, those lakes would be considered a municipal water system.

Dave Cook replied that they would not be, since the health unit recognizes that lakes are subject to contamination from more than human sources - e.g. from animals, etc. and people drawing water from lakes simply have to treat their water.

Perry also asked if anything could be done about cottages that have privies or that discharge grey water into lakes.

Cook replied that privies are not dangerous, as the waste is solid. He said that grey water contains mostly organic matter and some chemicals and should go into a leaching pit, but it is also not as big a concern as water-borne sewage.

He said the health unit finds that a lot of the problems with older cottages are being caught now because people are doing renovations and upgrades. However, he cautioned that council would have to be very careful and very specific about starting a program - once they start they have to continue. North Frontenac has about 4000 septic systems and it would be hard to tackle them all. The inspections have to be funded in some way.

Mayor Clayton asked if the township could put some legislation in place now to cover the possibility that one of its hamlets might put in a municipal water system in the future.

Ed Gardener replied that such a system would have to be inspected after it went in, so putting legislation in place now would be redundant.

Cook and Gardener said people don't realize that it's possible to put in a system that is legal, but still pollutes because of problems with bedrock, etc.

The township will facilitate a meeting between Public Health and Mississippi Valley Conservation, who presently does the township's septic re-inspections.

Better late than never: A belated retirement gift was presented to Courtland Kelford by Mayor Bud Clayton. Mr. Kelford was the road superintendent for Palmerston, North and South Canonto prior to amalgamation and retired in 1998. However, he was not recognized for his service back then and Mayor Clayton has wanted to rectify that for some time.

Addington Highlands request to use NF Hazardous Waste depot: Council approved in principle a request from Addington Highlands Township to let its residents use North Frontenac's Household Hazardous Waste depot. Several councilors expressing the feeling that neighboring municipalities should work together to help each other. However, North Frontenac would require an amendment to its Certificate of Approval, which could cost around $4,700 and they would also have to calculated the cost of hiring additional staff.

Firefighters' fundraising: Fire Chief Steve Riddell had sent an email to council updating them on the Clar-Mill firefighters' upcoming fundraising activities. The proceeds would go towards a set of tracks for the Clar-Mill ATV and towards new self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).

Mayor Clayton pointed out that if council agrees to the activities it is also agreeing to the tracks and SCBA, as the money has to be spent on what it was raised for. He said that since the township has not yet passed its core services bylaw, it is not known whether core services would include ATVs, or ATVs with tracks.

Councilor John Inglis said that the core services bylaw is catch-up legislation; that the departments have been buying trucks and equipment all the time without it. After some debate about the merits and safety of tracked ATVs, council deleted the mention of tracks and approved the fundraisers.

Tipping fees are going up: to $15 for box springs or mattresses, $20 for sofa beds, and $5-$25 for carpets depending on the size. TVs and other electronic waste will be free after the township gets its e-waste bins in place in the near future. The bylaw approving the change will be passed at the next council meeting.

Canada Day celebrations: Paul Thiel, a member of the audience, reported that he had attended a meeting on organizing township-wide celebrations for Canada Day. The idea is to have celebrations in different places - Snow Road, Plevna, etc. The meeting was organized by resident Amber Lemke for March 9, but attendance was low because of bad weather. However, Thiel said that many good ideas were brought up nevertheless - dances, games for children, contests, fireworks, etc. Another meeting will be called soon.

Changes to fishing regulations: Several members of council expressed their intention to attend a public open house on changes to fishing regulations, which will be held on Monday March 19, 6-9pm at the Northbrook Lions Hall. The proposed changes will be for walleye and bass.

Concerns for pedestrian safety: After the meeting, members of the audience were asked for comments, and Russell Gray brought up concerns about pedestrian and bicycle traffic on the roads. He was concerned about people walking in the same direction as the traffic with earphones on. The township will mention the concern to the local lodges and resorts.