Verona Housing Project – A Light At The End of Tunnel?

South Frontenac Council approved an application to the Build Canada Fund, for a maximum of $21million, which could include $6 million in grants and $15 million in a repayable loan.

The Build Canada program is new, replacing a previous program, and township staff would like to apply early to get into what they expect to be a long queue.

“Build Canada is the preferred method of financing,” said Chief Administrative Officer Louise Fragnito. “There are others, but we would like to explore this one first.”

The only issue before Council was the requirement that the project be ready to start construction within 12 months of the approval.

“Given our history with this project,” said Councillor Sleeth, with reference to the delays that the project has faced since it was first initiated 4 years ago, “are we confident that we can meet that?”

Louise Fragnito said that the applications take several months to work through the Build Canada process, so that timeframe is not likely to be a problem.

In calling the question, Mayor Vandewal asked Council if everybody was in favour of “getting $6 million in free money.”

Council was.

After approving the motion, Vandewal said “I think as far as getting started, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel, isn't there.”

Manager of Engineering and Capital Projects Troy Dunlop said that environmental and archaeological assessments have been completed, as has a series of other steps, and the current piece of the puzzle being worked on is locating the best location, and then drilling a well for a sufficient water supply, and the anticipated construction start date is in 2026.

Later in the meeting, a rendering of the way the proposed housing complexes will look, was presented to Council, in addition to a landscape plan.

Capital Budget

The preliminary draft capital budget, without an actual total costing, was presented to Council for comment. Before Treasurer Stephanie Kuca presented the budget, CAO Fragnito said that, in line with the new strong mayor budgeting, Council could not give direction to Staff at this presentation, only ask questions for clarification and provide recommendations. Direction can only come with the presentation of the entire budget in January.

The capital budget includes paving preservation on a total of 25 km of hard topped roads, including sections of Snider Road, York Road, Country Woods Drive, Latimer Road, Holmes Road, Davidson Road, 2 sections, Old Boy Road, Heska Crescent, Hitchcock Drive, Maple HillWay, Stone Point Drive White Lake Road, Stagecoach Road, Freeman Road, Sills Bay Road, Petworth Road, Garrison Court, South, and Round Lake Road.

Conservation Authorities

In addition to being a threat to local control over the operations of Conservation Authorities, councillors noted that the two that have responsibility for parts of South Frontenac, Cataraqui and Quinte Region, are slated to be folded into two different new CA’s, even though they both drain into Lake Ontario, from the Cataraqui River in Kingston and the Napanee River to the Bay of Quinte.

A motion asking the province to reconsider was proposed by Councillor Ruttan, and approved by Council.

Turcotte Motion

Councillor Adam Turcotte prepared a motion that encapsulates a number of provincial initiatives. The motion is short but wide ranging: That Council direct Staff to prepare and submit a formal letter of objection to the Premier of Ontario and the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, expressing our profound concern that the "Strong Mayor" model, the proposed consolidation of Conservation Authorities, and the municipal planning implications of Bill 60, the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act represent a systematic erosion of municipal democratic agency and local environmental oversight, and further, that this letter be shared with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), our local Conservation Authorities and all neighbouring municipalities.

Before Council voted on the motion, Turcotte read out a statement he prepared that covers some of the details about the implications of recent provincial initiatives on the responsibilities and authority of local councils. His statement will be circulated along with the motion.

BMO

Finally, Council passed a motion prepared by Councillor Ray Leonard, asking BMO to reconsider their decision to close the Verona bank branch, in light of the increased population that will be the result of the Verona Housing Project and the rebuild of McMullen Manor.

Leonard said that BMO does not seem to understand the implications that closing the branch will have on many seniors who use the Verona branch, and will not be in a position to travel to Kingston for their banking.