South Frontenac Council

Wilma Kenny | Jun 06, 2018

Special notice – road closure

Road 38 will be closed between Yarker Road and Harrowsmith from 9am-7pm for the week of June 11-15. (Open to local traffic only).

The detour will run between Yarker Road and Harrowsmith via Stars Corners and Wilton Road. Goal is to have the new Harrowsmith intersection completed by the 1st of July.

New Deputy Mayor Sworn In
Councillor Alan Revill was sworn in as Deputy Mayor for the remainder of the year. Deputy Mayor Revill set a new standard by having memorized the oath, speaking it directly to the assembly.

Property Acquisition
Council moved out of a closed session to approve the purchase, from parkland reserve, of a strip of property in Sydenham along the northwest shore of Millhaven Creek, abutting the Cataraqui Trail.

2017 Auditor’s Report
Howard Allan, of Howard Allan and Associates, summarized his report by saying the Township audit had ‘gone well’, with an annual surplus $800,000 higher than anticipated. Total 2017 expenditures were $22.5 million. Allan described the township’s tax rate as very competitive. Full details are available on the township’s website, in the agenda information for June 05.

OPP Speeding?
Staff Sergeant Sharron Brown came at council’s request to address concerns about reports of speeding patrol cars. Sergeant Brown reviewed the portions of the Highway Traffic Act, explaining that the police are exempt from the usual speed limits in emergency situations. Safety is stressed in police training, and all cars are GPS equipped, to manage service delivery by dispatching the car closest to the call. The office knows at all times where all their cars are. Brown said safety is a large part of every officer’s training, adding that sometimes if the public sees a speeding police car, but does not know where the car is going, or why, they phone in a complaint. She said every such call is taken seriously and addressed. If, indeed, the officer had no need to be speeding, this can become “a learning experience.” The bottom line is accountability. Councillor Barbeau thanked her for her presentation, saying that he had had several residents tell him they felt that recently the police have been driving more carefully.

Bellrock Community Hall
Terry Sauve of the Bellrock Community Hall Committee spoke to the Committee’s request to become a committee of Council, in order to be covered by the Township’s liability insurance. The hall became a community property after it closed as a school, and is very much a community hub. Over the years through fundraising and grants, the village has upgraded the hall to make it fully accessible, improved the kitchen, stage and bathroom facilities, and generally preserved the property in good condition. Council seemed to support the request, which will come before Council at a later meeting for approval.

Harris Hall, Perth Road
Council passed a motion to provide the Perth Road Crafters with a key to Harris Hall, as they do the routine cleaning of the hall, until the Township has adopted a Township-wide policy for the scheduling and maintenance of Township recreational facilities.

Zoning Amendments
Planner Mills recommended against special zoning for a small (.6 acre) lot in Bedford (Concession VII, part lot 6), on the grounds that it was unsuitable for development because of wetness. A final decision was withheld until Deputy Mayor Revill and Councillor Barr can view the property.

Johnston Point
In August 2016 the OMB approved a draft plan of condominium agreement for the proposed Johnston Point residential development. One of the conditions for final approval was that the owner enter into a condominium agreement with the municipality. This would give the Township the authority to enforce the stipulated conditions.

Traffic Calming Measure
The Township currently has three temporary speed humps. Public Works Manager Segsworth proposed a set of criteria for deployment of these in the non-winter months:

No arterial, gravel or dead-end roads

50% of vehicles exceed the posted speed by 10km/hr

Minimum 200 m from intersection

Subject to availability and budget (they cost approx $2,000.)

Council asked that the 200 m from intersection be removed, for it would preclude using the humps in villages.

Interim Planning Services
Planner Lindsay Mills is retiring at the end of June, and the township has been unsuccessful in finding a replacement: of six applicants, only one seemed to meet requirements, and that one withdrew when approached for an interview. Accordingly, Council agreed to engage the County of Frontenac for interim Planning Services (the County’s rates are much better than those of independent consulting firms.) The township will use a recruitment agency to seek both Planner and Director. Fees will be offset by year-to-date savings from the Director position.

Storrington/Glendower Update
Council reallocated $25,000 from the Storrington Centre Renovations project budget to the Glendower Accessible Entrance budget. Storrington is coming in well under budget, while the Glendower project has risen to a total of $91,742, from an initially budgeted $40,000.

Not a Truck?
The Fire Chief’s 4-year-old crew cab truck has 275,000 km on it and is showing signs of wear and tear, so is budgeted for replacement this year. Fire Chief Darcy Knott has requested that it be replaced by a small to mid-sized (red) SUV 4x4 with off road capability. This type of vehicle will be more fuel efficient and should last longer, given the shift of the Chief’s role to a more administrative function. Council wasted no time approving the change, and Mayor Vandewal complimented Chief Knott for ‘thinking outside the box.” This will be the Township’s first vehicle that is not a truck …