Central Frontenac Council – Dec 9/25

Deputy Mayor Appointment

Cindy Kelsey, Councillor from Kennebec (Ward 1) was nominated and appointed as Deputy Mayor for the next 11 months, until the end of this current council term, which extends past the October 26 election until the inaugural meeting of a new council in November of next year.

Kelsey is a three term member of council, and when nominating her, Councillor Nicki Gowdy pointed out that this will be her first stint as Deputy Warden. Kelsey, who works full-time as post-mistress in Arden, said would be able to serve in the role.

Mayor Frances Smith said she expects Kelsey to be called upon to fill in for her early in the new year.

Wilkinson road presentation

At the previous meeting, a resident from Crow Lake, brought her concerns about the state of Crow Lake Road in the vicinity of the hamlet of Crow Lake, and this week two residents from Chippego Lake came in to talk about maintenance on their main access road, Wilkinson Road. Wilkinson Road leads to a number of private lanes on Chippego Lake, which are all maintained at the expense of the over 100 waterfront property owners on the Lake. According to Cheryl Dunlop and Chris Reid, who each made a short presentation to council, there are now as many as 40 permanent residents on Chippego Lake, including the two of them and their families. Dunlop talked about the poor state of road, winter maintenance issues, and signage that is missing. Reid concentrated mostly on the grading and pothole issues on the road,

As had been pointed out a week earlier by Councillor Phillip Smith during budget discussions, for Chppego Lake residents, the Wilkinson Road, a gravel road for the most part, is the only township service that they have ready access to, as they come into the township from South Frontenac or Stone Mills, to access their properties.

Their concerns boiled down to mantaining the road in safe manner during the rainy spring and fall, and during winter snow and ice events.

Mayor Smith said their complaints and concerns will be relayed to staff.

Rural Ontario Development Grant

Council approved a proposal from Chief Building Official Andy Dillon to apply for a Rural Ontario Development grant to help fund repairs and upgrades to the Soldiers Memorial Hall kitchen. The grant provides up to 35% funding, to a maximum of $25,000, for rural infrastucture projects. A preliminary estimates of the costs for the kitchen upgrade is $75,000, and if the grant application is successful it will require $50,000 to be raised from a combination of commitments by user groups (the Lions Club and North Frontenac Little Theatre were mentioned in the report) and local residents who keep the Sharbot Lake hall busy most days of the week throughout the year, and the township.

Recycling for commercial businesses

As of Janaury 1st, 2026, Emterra, which collects all residential recycling throughout Eastern Ontario, will not longer collect recycling generated by businesses and institutions including not for profit corporations, churches, and others.

The township has arranged to bring recycling from this category of user to a facility in Kingston managed by Waste Management Corporation, at a cost of $185 per metric ton. The township will assume the cost, as a measure of support for the local business community. The service will only be available, in two specified bins, one for each stream, at the Oso site off Crow Lake road. Local businesses will receive a letter informing them of the new system.

Conservation Authority

Planning Coordinator Abigail McKinnon prepared a lengthy summary of the activities and service provided by Conservation Authorities (CAs) ended in early November, and other material provided to her by the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, one of three with responsibilities in Central Frontenac.

The information outlines some of the concerns being expressed across the province about Bill 68, which will radically changed the administrative structure of CAs in Ontario if passed in its current form, reducing them from 36 to 7.

Council passed a motion to circulate to other municipalities and the province concerning Bill 68, which included the following clause: “the Corporation of the Township of Central Frontenac calls on the Government of Ontario to maintain local, independent, municipally governed, watershed-based conservation authorities to ensure strong local representation in decisions related to municipal levies, community-focused service delivery, and the protection and management of conservation lands.”

Councillor Susan Irwin, who is the Central Frontenac representative to the Board of the Rideau Valley Conservation, said that what she gathered from the Chief Administrator of Rideau Valley, Summer Mcintosh, is that there is some hope that there can be a change to Bill 68 proposal to keep the revised CA system to a large watershed base instead of the initial model, which would result in a reduction to 19 CAs instead of 7, and said there are active discussions across the province about the changes.

Dog Bylaw

Councillor Gowdy presented a motion that included some proposed wording changed to the Dog Licensing Bylaw that was adopted by Council earlier this fall. The changes came as the result of a presentation to council by local residents, David Bates, in November. Gowdy proposed that the proposed wording changes be considered by staff, with a view towards adppting new wording, where appropriate in the new year

Bylaw Officer Nicole Shorts said that the bylaw, as it stands, is based on a combination of some successful bylaws in other similar jurisdictions, and that some of the proposed wording changes, specifically those related to the criteria for the definition of a “working dog”, would only create confusion and may result in a less effective bylaw.

The matter was deferred to allow staff to consider all the implications of the proposed changes.

(Late Breaking News – Peanut Butter Challenge – The results of the Peanut Butter Challenge are in – Oso District won the sweetest and nuttiest award. The Central Frontenac Peanut Butter Challenge came in on December 16. The grand total of donated jars of peanut butter to the North and Central Frontenac Food Bank is 637, about 3 times the 213 jar total from 2024. Oso District led with a 219 jar total, followed by Kennebec at 179, Hinchinbrooke at 120, and Olden at 119)