South Frontenac Council

Wilma Kenny | Nov 16, 2016

Council opened with a minute of silence in memory of Eileen Sleeth, recognized as one of South Frontenac’s 2016 Volunteers of the Year, and wife of Councillor Ron Sleeth.

Fees for Sale of Public Lands and Road Allowances

Deputy Mayor Sutherland and Mayor Vandewal disagreed sharply on the question of whether or not the current system of pricing closed road allowances was being “fairly and equitably” applied. Sutherland had brought a notice of motion proposing to ask the Corporate Services Committee to consider updating the formula for sale of public lands. Vandewal said “I think it (the current system) works well as it is, now.” Councilor John Mcdougall cautioned against legislating all the flexibility out of the process. When Sutherland said he thought the present system was unfair because Council has not always charged everyone at the same rate,

Vandewal asked “Didn’t you vote to reduce the Boy Scout Camp fee?” Sutherland accused the Mayor of being out of order. Eventually all but Vandewal and Roberts voted to refer the issue to the Corporate Services Board for a recommendation.

FIT Solar Resolution Support

Following David Hahn’s delegation at the last Committee of the Whole on behalf of Wintergreen Renewal Energy Cooperative, Council agreed to reconsider their decision not to support the Wintergreen project. They had previously rejected it because the applicants had not followed the required procedure in bringing their application forward. It was approved this time around.

Lobbying Strategy

The Township has been unsuccessful in obtaining grants or other financial support for major infrastructure funding, such as Sunbury Road and Road 38. Council agreed to ask the CAO to prepare a report recommending a Township lobbying strategy which might help bring our needs to the attention of Provincial and Federal officials.

Terms of Committee Chairs

Council passed an amendment to the Procedural bylaw clarifying that the Chairs of the Committee of Adjustment and South Frontenac Recreation Committee should serve for “no more than a period of two consecutive years.” This restriction will not apply to any of the other township committees.

Insurance RFP

The County issued a joint insurance RFP for all lower tiers as well as the County for insurance coverage, services and premiums. This RFP was structured to try to obtain cost savings by jointly selecting one server across all municipalities. However, because the savings by municipality were not consistently from the same provider, each municipality was left to select its own provider. South Frontenac chose JLT Canada’s bid of $230,000, for a savings of $102,014 for the next two years, with an option to extend it one more year, depending on “reasonable price adjustments and satisfactory service.”

New Building Official

The motion to appoint a new Chief Building Official was briefly introduced by Mayor Vandewal; “We all know about the new Building Official.” The motion passed. A reading of the bylaw reveals the person’s name is Ryan Arcand. There was no other information given. The bylaw is to take effect December 05/16.

No Development Services Manager

CAO Wayne Orr announced that no suitable candidate had been found for the newly created position of Manager of Developmental Services, and the position will be re-posted in the New Year. For the time being, the Planner/Deputy Clerk and the Chief Building Official will report directly to CAO Orr.

Fermoy Hall

Council agreed to release up to $5,000 of the $30,000 budgeted for Fermoy Hall so the electrical portion of the work can be done this year.

Search is on for Canada 150 Community Leader

Council has been tasked with choosing one or more local people to “act as official community voices in Canada 150 events in the municipality”. As the deadline is near, Councillor McDougall suggested that staff and Council make recommendations within a week. The list will be passed on to the Public Services Committee, for a final recommendation.