South Frontenac Council

Wilma Kenny | Apr 15, 2015

Delegations to Council
New Leaf Link (NeLL)
Dr Karin Steiner, Executive Director of NeLL, introduced several participants, parents and volunteers from this nonprofit program which provides continuing education, lifeskills and socialization to adults with developmental disabilities. Steiner pointed out that once these young people have graduated from the school system there are no ongoing program resources for them in South Frontenac outside their homes.
Since 2009, NeLL has provided activities and education two days a week, drawing on support from volunteers,
service clubs, individual donors and participant fees. They would like to be able to have sufficient finances to run three days a week for 34 weeks, and have two week-long summer programs.
At Mayor Vandewal’s request, Steiner agreed to provide Council more concrete numbers concerning program costs.
Solar Farm Proposal
Two representatives from SunEdison returned to discuss their intent to submit an RFP application to the provincial government this September. They are proposing a solar project on the Groenewegen property fronting on Florida Road, south of Harrowsmith, and need to be able to show municipal support. Two main concerns of Council are that the public meeting about the project should be widely advertised, should include a take-home information package, and that a reserve fund needs to be established to cover the cost of decommissioning the project after its projected twenty-year lifespan
Perth Road Fire Hall
CEO Orr reported on behalf of Fire Chief Chesebrough about the recent tours of three neighbouring fire halls, and three primary design points related to equipment bays: how many, how long should they be, and should these bays be drive-through? Opinions varied, but there seemed general agreement that two bays should be sufficient. Some said that while drive-through bays might be safest in theory, some of the firehalls they visited were clogging the drive-throughs with storage items.
Councillor Revill spoke of the importance of taking a longer view of the whole Township’s fire system: perhaps plan for one larger central station which would house administration and provide facilities for training of all township firefighters, with two or three mid-sized stations, their locations determined by call-out history, and the rest of the stations could be smaller, with minimal training facilities. He suggested that storage might be provided less expensively by secondary buildings adjacent to the main firehall.
Revill emphasized that immediate needs are not the same as wish lists, and budget restraints combined with “a lot to do ahead of us” mean that reserves would need to be developed to accompany long-range planning. He also strongly recommended engaging an architect to draw up the final plans for the firehalls.
Planner’s Response re Johnson Point
Planner Lindsay Mills’ response to Councillor Sutherland’s ten questions met a lukewarm response from Council. Sutherland said that although an argument could be made to have no development on Johnson Point it would not be reasonable to do so, and was not what the Loughborough Lake Association had asked for.
“It’s better to move on,” he said, adding that there still needed to be an environmental assessment on the neighbouring wetlands, for even though this was not a trout lake, an EA would be a “reasonable and responsible condition”, which would address the importance of preserving water quality and fish habitat. He suggested establishing a ten-meter buffer zone between the lot boundaries and the wetlands and using the lot on the southwest corner as common property with docking facilities for all residents.
Mills had said there already were docks in the wetlands around the bay: Sutherland countered that these docks may have been the result of bad planning decisions, and should not be held up as standards to follow. Mayor Vandewal said that creating the buffer might not be possible in this case, as it would be changing the rules in the middle of the process: however, it might be a good idea going forward. Councillor Mark Schjerning agreed with Sutherland, saying he would like a lake impact assessment, regardless of how that section of the planning act has been interpreted in the past.
Councillor Ron Sleeth said he’d like a legal opinion on the interpretation of that section (5.2.10) of the planning act, and Sutherland asked whether someone from the MOE or MNR could give Council a definition of “protected wetland”.
Mayor Vandewal said the issue would be coming to next week’s Council meeting for decisions.
Trailers (for sale or rent) … again …
The time period for compliance with the prohibition of the use of trailers on private residential property expires on December 31, 2105. This by-law has been haunting Council ever since it was established ten years ago.
Originally intended as a means of addressing the inequality of trailer residents paying no taxes, but using Township services: roads, waste disposal, fire and emergency, etc, it has been dragged out and extended, largely due to the difficulty of enforcement. A lively discussion offered CAO Orr no clear direction: the question of “what next?” will come to Council next week.
Where Would You Like to Live?
How about on a lane called: Abbey Road; Copperhead Road; Coronation St; Lannister; Mockingjay; Pivo; Bacon; Stark; Tamarak (sic); Warp Dr; Weevil; Gator or Bedbug? (I added the last one: has a nice rhythm. W)
These are some of the 127 possibilities that Planner Mills offered Council for consideration and approval. The final list will be provided to residents of newly developed lanes, to expedite the choice of names. The list is intended to be nonoffensive, and should not duplicate those of neighbouring Townships, or reference any living person.