Atvs

Jeff Green | Sep 28, 2006

Back toHome

ATVs to be legal on CentralFrontenac roads

by Jeff Green

After a short debate, Central Frontenac Council passed a motion this week asking staff to prepare a bylaw that will make All Terrain Vehicle use on township roads legal.

Two weeks ago the township held a public meeting on the issue, with the vast majority of those in attendance appearing to support the idea of ATVs using township roadways.

Some of the people who attended the public meeting are members of the Frontenac ATV club, which is the group that had petitioned Central Frontenac Council to consider allowing the four wheelers to ride the roads legally.

Neighbouring townships, such as South and North Frontenac and Addington Highlands all have passed their so-called ATV bylaws in the last couple of years.

Councilors Logan Murray and Jack Nicolson both spoke against the motion, with Murray saying “I wouldn’t take the public meeting as an indication about how the public feels about this. The proper thing to do is to put it as a question on the ballot [in the upcoming municipal election]. In the States they are banning ATVs on what they call Public lands and we call Crown Land , because of environmental concerns.”

Other councilors argued that it is the job of council to make decisions.

“I think we should go ahead with it. I don’t think it’s fair to defer this to a new council,” said Deputy Mayor Frances Smith.

“I believe it was Logan who requested a Public meeting and we held one,” said Mayor Bill MacDonald. “As far as putting this on the ballot, I think it’s our duty to make decisions and take the consequences”.

Staff will prepare a bylaw for passage at a future meeting.

Bender Road Glenys Wright and Philip Bender attended the previous council meeting to present a petition regarding four dangerous curves on the Tryon Road . Public Works Manager Bill Nicol prepared a report for council which estimated the cost of remediation at $112,500, because it would require blasting to improve sight lines around the curves in question.

Before council voted to defer the matter to budget deliberations next year, Deputy Mayor Frances Smith asked if at that time, Nicol could “break down the costs so we could consider doing one or two of the curves one year, and the others the next year, or over several years.” Nicol nodded.

“They are also asking for some additional signage,” added Councilor Janet Gutowski.

“Signage would not be a problem,” Nicol replied.

Recycle bins Secure bins for placement at up to 14 public locations within the township, including halls and beaches, have been priced at $1,200 per bin, with an additional $300 cost to anchor the units to concrete slabs. The total cost to place bins at all of the locations would be $21,000. The matter was deferred until next year’s budget, with councilors mentioning that it might be possible to do some locations in the first year and others in subsequent years.

Arden Hall kitchen renovations Council accepted a tender of $7,600 from the Interior Zone for new cabinets for the Arden Hall, including installation and necessary plumbing. Councillor Murray voted against the motion, arguing that the cabinets will be made of melamine and will not be hefty enough for use in a public kitchen.

Economic Development Committee Jane Drew, Brent Tullis, Gary Smith, Rosemarie Bowick, Doug Steele, and Roy Cornohouse were appointed to the Economic Development Committee for a two-year term.