South Frontenac Council - September 2

Jeff Green | Sep 11, 2025

Ever since the provincial government began requiring that Ontario municipalities undertake asset management processes, local councils have been subjected to some large, scary numbers.

Asset management looks at each item that a municipality owns (roads, buildings, vehicles, parks, etc) determines what state it is in, how much money will be required to bring it up to standard and maintain it over time, when it will need to be replaced, and how much it will all cost.

The intention is to help the municipalities deal with some long term expenses over time instead of being faced with unanticipated, debilitating costs down the road. 

However, asset management processes inevitably present costs to local councils that far outweigh the local municipalities ability to keep up, without bringing in double digit tax increases for several years.

South Frontenac has been spending significantly on infrastructure over the last decade, and the asset management plan that was developed at the end of 2023 for core assets, resulted in potential spending of an average of over $9million per year until 2032, on paved roads and bridges. This includes the work to reconstruct Road 38 that is taking place this year.

Last week, the township received the Asset Management report for non-core assets from the Watson and Associates: Economists.

These assets include the township's buildings, vehicle fleet, recreational facilities, and gravel roads. Each category and subcategories are rated on a range from “Very Good” to “Very Poor”. 

While the vehicle fleet (overall condition – good)  gravel roads and recreation facilities (fair) did relatively well in the report, the state of condition of the township's buildings was rated as poor.

It should be noted that the information used for the report is dated, so the $3.5million town hall construction project, which is nearing completion, is not taken into account.

There are ten buildings listed in the report whose condition is classed as “very poor”.

The cost to address all of the non-core asset needs in South Frontenac over the next ten years is $63 million, according to the Watson report.

“I think that when residents look at this report, it could set expectations too high.  If I was just sitting at home and I read this report, it is saying we need $7 million a year for these non-core assets, let’s say for a ballpark number, $20 million when you include the core assets. It is not doable without major tax increases, more than people can handle,” said Mayor Vandewal. 

“They are either thinking that the township has been doing nothing over the last ten years, or that they are going to get hit with taxes big time, and neither are true.”

Chief Administrative Officer Louise Fragnito pointed out that this report is only intended to provide information to Staff and Council.

“This is informing our next steps when we go into a long range financial plan and when we go on to our budget. It is not meant to automatically roll into our financial plan or our budget,” she said.

Peter Simisko, one of the Principle Economists with Watson's, presented the plan to Council. He pointed out a couple of things about the building assessment part of the plan.

“The ratings are based on a calculation of repairs needed to the buildings, over a five year period, in relation to the value of the building. They are not about the state of repair of the building over all. A poor rating does not mean the building is in generally poor repair, it just refers to costs,” he said.

He also said that the township needs also to look at its proposed service levels, to determine whether to maintain certain assets over time.

This was picked up by a number of councilors, including councilors Morey and Pegrum. 

“If we look at some of the ten buildings that are listed as poor, they might not be in our plans for the future, and could be taken off the list entirely,” said Councilor Doug Morey.

Councilor Steve Pegrum proposed asking Staff to report back early in 2026 about which buildings do not fit into the township's future plans, and can be declared surplus and sold off.

Director of Public Works Kyle Bolton said he appreciated being given some time to complete this report, and added that the township could also consider demolishing some buildings instead of declaring them surplus and trying to sell them off.

He also said that the spending proposals in the asset management are not as daunting as they seem to be when laid out on a 10 year chart, as they are in the Watson Report.

“I think if we review the 2025 capital budget we are not too far off the proposed spending program …  I don’t see this as sticker shock, the commitment is there from us.”

Council received the Watson Report, and Pegrum's motion asking for a report back from staff about buildings that can be declared surplus or demolished, was passed later in the meeting.

Grant Requests for Verona Housing Project

Council endorsed grant requests submitted to the City of Kingston, under the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative (COCHI) and Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative (OPHI) totalling $1.4 million, to support the Verona Housing Project. 

CAO Fragnito pointed out that the granting program requires that the complex include a specified number of “affordable units”, as defined by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), and would not mean that the Verona housing complex would become social housing under the jurisdiction of the City of Kingston's housing department. 

Determining the ownership structure for the project is one of the next steps in the project.

Also related to Verona Housing, the Phase 2 archaeological assessment process on the site is underway. The archaeologists were on the site digging test holes in late August and will be back on September 16, to look at a couple of sensitive areas.

Deputy Chief Building Inspector 

Matt Doyle was appointed as Deputy Chief Building Inspector.

Used Pumper

Council approved the purchase of a 2007 Spartan Pumper that has been refurbished. The vehicle will cost $130,000.