South Frontenac Council - August 9, 2022

Wilma Kenny | Aug 17, 2022

South Frontenac Council met at 6:00 on the 9th, returned after a short break at 7 for public meetings re planning items for another hour, then went into camera, coming back to briefly report before closing. As a result, anyone wishing to follow the Facebook recordings will need to open three separate items.

“A one-of-a-kind facility for our Township”

Council approved a $334,000 bid from Ubicon Construction to build a roof over the Stocksport court in Harrowsmith’s Centennial Park. This will turn it into a multipurpose facility to be used for concerts, the farmers’ market, and other outdoor community events. Harrowsmith has been chosen to host the America’s Cup in Stocksport there next year. Councillor Leonard noted that in the future similar multi-purpose sites could be developed in other Township locations. Councillor McDougall noted that it had been 9 years since Dan Bell first proposed the idea; “Things don’t happen overnight, but things do happen,” replied Mayor Vandewal.

New Devil Lake Sign

Council supported a request from the Devil Lake Association (DLA) for the installation of privately funded educational and conservation signage on public lands at the Devil Lake boat launch on Perth Road. Township staff will assist with the installation, but the sign itself will remain the property of the DLA.

Implementation of Administrative Monetary Penalties (AMP) for By-law Enforcement

Currently, the only recourse in which the Township of South Frontenac can seek prosecution with respect to a municipal by-law violation is under the Provincial Offences Act. Traditionally, prosecution under the Provincial Offences Act involves an often lengthy and costly process. Due to continued delays stemming from court closures during the pandemic, it is reasonable to expect a delay of several years before a case is heard by the provincial court system. As such, it has become commonplace for municipalities to adjudicate by-law offences through the administration of AMPs. This process is much more cost effective and efficient than seeking prosecution under the Provincial Offences Act.

This will be in relation to the enforcement of the Trailer License by-law, and the Safe Property by-law. By-law violations will continue to be investigated only on a complaint basis, and the property owner will be given time to comply. Mayor Vandewal emphasized that this is not a property standards by-law, but a ‘safe properties’ by-law, as before. Only the process of enforcement will change.

Site Plan Controls: Johnston Point

Bylaws for three very detailed site plan controls were passed for units 3, 7 and 10 in the Johnston Point Subdivision.

Quarterly Update – Capital Works Program

Troy Dunlop, Manager of Technical Services and Infrastructure, introduced the first of a series of new quarterly reports that will be issued going forward on the status of capital works projects within the Public Services Department. Councillor Sleeth asked whether the projects were being completed within their projected timelines: Dunlop said they were, adding that the Hinchinbrook Road was wrapping up, and had been well done: “I’m eager to see the hard surface go on soon.” In regard to costs, he said this report included January carry-overs, and the overall project costs were ‘coming in close to the line.” Mayor Vandewal commented “It’s not as painful as we thought it might be.”

Councillor McDougall spoke of a 6-month wait and still no word of the commissioned engineering report on the Bellrock and Petworth mills from Rony; CAO Fragnito said that engineering services have been taking a lot of time to come through this year.

Planning and Building Services Reports

There were no questions for Director of Planning Services Claire Dodds concerning the Planning report.

Building Services was a different issue: Councillor Revill led off by expressing concern about the slowness of issuing permits. He said that, in spite of staffing issues, he thought the Director should be asked for a report on how the department might better meet the timeframe for delivery of service.

Saying “Planning is aware of the problem and is working on an action plan to deal with it,” Mayor Vandewal asked for comments from Council. Sleeth said, “Due to the complexity and sensitivity of the issue, I would suggest a special meeting to deal with it.” Ruttan agreed, as did Roberts and Leonard: “There must be something getting in the way — a meeting would go a long way toward clearing the air and supporting our staff as well.” Vandewal said; “Something has to change: I’m getting a lot of comments. We’re losing peoples’ business, and it will be hard to get them back.” He asked the CAO and the Director to put together a plan for a special meeting.

K&P Trail Counts

The County’s Economic Development Department’s trail counts on the K&P show impressively high use: an average of 297 daily users so far this year, with a peak day use of 1,187, and a total of 73,815 in South Frontenac in the first half of the year. (No one questioned these figures, although the total estimated use for the first half of ’22 seems high, as does the percentage of motorized vehicles.)

Public Meetings: Closure of Unopened Road Allowance

A strip of unopened road allowance with a complicated history of use between Portland and Loughborough has raised a great deal of public reaction. Council members seemed to agree that they did not support the proposal to close the road allowance, though there seemed no opposition to separating out the small portion that contained part of an existing building. Staff has been asked to bring back a report that could accommodate this suggestion.

There was no public input to the remaining four public meetings.

Council then went into camera, and reconvened to pass a motion approving the creation of the position of Manager of Human Resources.