A_new_look_for_South_Frontenac_Council

Jeff Green | Dec 21, 2006

Back toHome

A New Look for South Frontenac Council

by Wilma Kenny -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

South Frontenac began its next four years with four new Councillors, a new Mayor, new chairs, nameplates and carpeting, and a new seating order around the table. In his opening remarks, Mayor Davison urged councillors to do their homework by reading agendas and coming to meetings well informed. He listed amalgamation, roads and waste diversion as three of the major challenges facing the Township. "We must go forward together into amalgamation, recognizing there are many issues to be resolved, and assets to be protected." The first challenge to amalgamation came later in the evening, when some councillors protested the new seating order. Councillors York, Fillion and Robinson all said they would prefer to be seated beside the member from their own district. In the end, Council agreed to retain the alphabetical seating order.

Further jostling came over the order in which Del Stowe, Bill Robinson, Larry York, and Ron Vandewal would serve as Deputy Mayor (each of them having received the highest number of votes in their respective districts): the order listed above was finally agreed upon by consensus between the four candidates. Del Stowe will be the Deputy Mayor in 2007.

MitchellCreekBridge

Ross Sutherland, speaking on behalf of the Friends of Mitchell Creek Bridge, asked that Council send a letter to the Ministry of Transport, asking that the bridge be repaired in the manner originally planned. This would mean replacing girders, planks and rails, a much cheaper solution which would preserve the environmental and social status quo of the area. Sutherland suggested that since the Governmental approval process seemed to be stalled, this might be a good time for the Township to propose an alternate which has strong community support. Council agreed to write the letter as requested, though Councillor Vandewal said the MitchellCreek issue had already cost the Township a lot of money, and he didn’t want to risk initiating further expensive delays and studies.

Sydenham Lakeshore Severances

Wilfred VanLuven’s application for a zone amendment that would allow him to sever three lots on the south shore of Sydenham Lake elicited a flurry of protest letters, mostly from residents on the north shore across from the proposed development. Concerns centred on the potential for erosion, should any of the trees on the steep shoreline be cut. Council passed the amendment with the reminder that the by-law forbidding shoreline clearance could only be enforced if violations were reported to the Township. "We don’t have a squad of tree police," commented the Mayor.

DesertLake Campground

Council passed a zoning amendment to allow Sally and Brett Colman, new owners of Desert Lake Campground to service 50 existing non-serviced tent and trailer sites with water and electricity. The newly-formed Desert Lake Property Owners Association had asked that the decision be deferred until it could be considered in the light of the developing Lake Management Plan.

Several Councillors did ask whether there was adequate control of greywater disposal for the 145 trailer/camp sites at the resort. Another concern was possible increase in pedestrian traffic across the Desert Lake Road since the 50 sites in question are located on the south side of DesertLake road. Brett Colman said the resort was planning to duplicate services on both sides so there would be less need to cross the road. However, the resorts main attractions, the beach and lake are on the north side of the road.

Staff Change

CAO Gord Burns welcomed Angela Maddocks as the Township’s new Confidential Secretary. Burns noted that Ms Maddocks had recently coped exceedingly well with the demands of her dual roles of Acting Secretary and Municipal Election Assistant. Former secretary Dierdre Babcock is now working for the OPP Detachment in Hartington.