North Shore Crescent/Road Name Confusion

Wilma Kenny | Sep 05, 2018

Don MacQuarrie came as a delegate to Council on behalf of himself, his wife, and his neighbours on North Shore Crescent. This is a short portion of the original Perth Road which was bypassed and renamed when the current road was built. The crescent curves from the end of Rutledge Road to just north of Loughborough Lake bridge. The much longer North Shore Road runs off it, heading east along the lake.

MacQuarrie said that over the years, the two roads are often confused by everyone from visitors to delivery trucks and public services.

In his words, it is “an annoyance, but liveable,” until last November when his wife, Connie Baran-Gerez, suffered a pulmonary embolism and precious minutes were lost when the ambulance passed their house and had to be called back. By the time they did arrive, her heart had stopped. She had no pulse for 15 minutes, and suffered some brain damage. (Her recovery since then has been gradual but encouraging).

In January, the couple wrote to Council expressing their concern and asking that the problem be addressed. They received no reply, so Ms Baran-Gerez sent an e-mail, saying that she had almost died as a result of the confusion between the two roads. Council’s response was that the matter had been referred to committee, and the decision had been that no action needed to be taken.

Finding this response unacceptable, MacQuarrie asked to speak directly to Council, and submitted a petition signed by 17 of the 18 residents on the Crescent (several of whom were present at tonight’s meeting).

They made three requests: 1) new signs that clearly mark the two roads; 2) investigate and report to residents the feasibility and cost of updating geographical data to GPS, and 3) report on the feasibility and cost of renaming North Shore Crescent, including canvassing residents for their approval.

Council seemed in agreement that something needed to be done, and a motion was made to follow MacQuarrie’s three recommendations. Schjerning suggested that rather than addressing just this one situation, perhaps the Township should draw up a list of all the similarly named roads in the Township, and develop a policy. He also said that the ambulance’s failure to find the right address had been “human error: the ambulance crew made a mistake, for the geolocation was correct.”

Deputy Mayor Revill drew agreement that it was important to address this current problem more promptly, and Mayor Vandewal suggested that rather than going to the expense of putting up new permanent signs that might not be relevant if the crescent were to be renamed, it might be preferable to use a township billboard for temporary and immediate signage, then examine the implications for the rest of the Township’s roads. He noted that changing a street or road name could prove expensive and time consuming for individuals and businesses to change their addresses.

Councillor Sutherland proposed an amendment to the motion, an addition recommending that signage be improved at once on the North Shore. The motion passed unanimously. MacQuarrie thanked Council for their quick response to his appeal.

(Next Term’s) Council Gets a Pay Raise

Last spring, Council directed staff to convene a committee of citizens to review Council compensation, working on the premise that members of Council should not be out-of-pocket to perform the duties of their office. Three qualified community volunteers, Christine Bell, Stephen Bach and Sandy Cameron were chosen.

Using Loyalist Township as their chief comparator, they recommended that beginning January 1, 2019, compensation should be set at: Mayor, $33,621; Deputy Mayor, $21,561; Councillor, $15,084. They also recommended that the Deputy Mayor and Councillors continue to be compensated $50. for meetings other than regular Council, but that the Mayor receive no additional compensation for meetings. The existing honorarium for conferences should remain unchanged, but the monthly allowance for communication costs should be raised to $100. Any future adjustments should be tied to the percentage change negotiated for unionized employees. The full report can be read on the Township’s website, in the notes for the Sept 04 Council meeting agenda.

Councillor Sutherland argued that the raise was not justified, even though in future, all of the councillors’ compensation will be taxed (currently, ⅓ is tax free). Sleeth disagreed on this point. It was noted that the Deputy Mayor’s proposed raise was greater than either of the other two categories: “My role as Deputy Mayor has been a short one, but it has not been onerous,” said current Deputy Mayor Alan Revill. (the South Frontenac Deputy Mayor is not elected to the role and has no portfolio, other than the requirement to stand in for the Mayor if necessary.) Roberts moved an amendment, to lower the Deputy Mayor’s compensation to $19,561.

Mayor Vandewal said he felt the compensation was fair, but called for a recorded vote. The amended motion passed 5-4, with Barbeau, Barr, McDougall, Revill, Roberts in favour, and Schjerning, Sleeth, Sutherland and Vandewal opposed.

“It should be interesting when staff come up for negotiation and ask for 9%,” commented Vandewal.

Cannabis is Coming…!

Councillor Sleeth asked whether Council should be giving thought to clarifying rules about pot smoking in the township’s public spaces. CAO Orr said that “smoke-free Ontario” rules would cover cannabis as well as tobacco in public areas, but “the rest is in limbo”.

It was generally agreed to stay calm, man, and wait for the Province’s lead.