| Sep 27, 2007


Feature Article - September 27, 2007 Feature Article - September 27, 2007

Central Frontenac Council, Sept 25by Jeff Green

NFCS - Scott Black, Director of Adult Services, and Sue Leslie, Director of Children’s Services, presented council with an overview of the services offered by Northern Frontenac Community Services (NFCS).The 32-year-old organisation provides a range of services for children, adults, and seniors, and has recently initiated a youth program. The agency has a budget of $1.5 million per year, and 29 employees.Jane Drew, who runs Rural Routes, a transportation program that NFCS started up two years ago, provided an overview for Council’s benefit. “Forty-eight percent of the people we serve are aged 60 and over and 78% have an income of $19,000 per year or less,” Jane Drew told council.Scott Black pointed out that “transportation programs throughout Ontario all require municipal support to survive,” and mentioned that Rural Routes would be eligible for provincial gas tax support if it “was a line item in a municipal budget.”Jane Drew said that in 2007, Rural Routes received one-time funding of $36,500 from Frontenac County.Mayor Gutowski pointed out that transportation “has become an issue in the provincial election campaign.”Rural Routes serves a small portion of South Frontenac, and Janet Gutowski said she will “continue to advocate for county funding, but our council might have to look at this as well.”Winter sand tenders - The winter sand tender was awarded to the lowest bidder, Nedow Construction, for $93,2000Road speed signs - Township staff recently erected 60 km/hr signs on small and dead end roads throughout the township, in accordance with a bylaw that was approved some four years.Unfortunately, said township interim CAO John DuChene in a report to Council, 60 km/hr is an inappropriate speed for many of the roads, “i.e. too fast for the conditions of the road”.Staff will review the listed roads and recommend appropriate speed limits. It was pointed out that it is important to post speed limits on back roads because un-posted roads all carry an 80 km/hr speed limit in Ontario.Organisational Review - The consulting firm “Wineberg/Donaldson/Muince will conduct a long- awaited organisational review of the township’s operations for a maximum of $50,000. Not only was theirs the lowest bid, they did similar work for Stone Mills and South Frontenac Townships and their work has been endorsed by CAO Gord Burns of South Frontenac.Railway museum – Council accepted a proposal by the Central Frontenac Railway museum to lay some track in the vicinity of the old Sharbot Lake station in order to display some of their artefacts.“Right now, the only thing that is there is some poison ivy, which is not much of an asset to the township,” said Mayor Gutowski in supporting the proposal.

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