Resident Questions Energy Project Support
fter attending a couple of meetings via Zoom because of a broken ankle, Mayor Frances Smith was back in her familiar seat at the front of the room to chair a meeting of Central Frontenac Council last week.
Michela Gossage addressed Council as a delegate..
She lives in the Godfrey area, near to the location of a proposed bio-gas electricity generating installation from a company called Originative Energy,.
Gossage questioned Council's decision to support Originative Energy's application to Ontario's independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) most recent procurement window. She pointed out that the motion of support came about two weeks after a presentation to Council by Originative Energy, without any public notice or process taking place.
“Projects like this must be located responsibly,” Gossage told Council. This was not well received by the community. It is not just myself who is concerned. I have 360 signatures on a petition that I circulated. I also have feedback from another township that has validated my concerns.”
Among those, is the risk to public perception and trust.
“When a municipal council passes a resolution before a public process has taken place, it may create the impression that the outcome of a planning application has been pre-determined. This undermines the transparency, fairness and integrity of the municipal planning process and can erode public confidence in both municipal decision-making and renewable energy development.”
She also provided a picture of a GE Vernova generator that Originative is proposing to install from an installation in California. Unlike the image provided by Originative, the image she provided included 22 metre-high stacks on top of the generators. An exhaust system had to be added to the Generator in order for it to comply with Califiornia’s emissions regulations.
“Canada holds a memorandum of understanding with California to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, so essentially if this is needed in California, it could very well be required here as well,” she said.
This puts into question the claim by Originative Energy that the installation they are planning to put in place would not be visible to any of the neighbours, Gossage said, and she also pointed out that the township has a 15-metre height limit for residential and commercial buildings.
She also noted significant health risks that come from living next to an industrial plant, with emissions.
In response to her presentation, Mayor Smith said “this was just support for an application. If, in fact, they are approved, all of the things that you mentioned will be back at this table .., if they are approved, they have many hoops that they have to go through.”
“I’m aware of all that needs to happen, but could there not be legal costs if Council can’t say no.”
“If they don’t live up to the conditions that we set out, the project does not go ahead.”
Councillor Nicki Gowdy said that a number of councillors were at the ROMA (Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) conference in Toronto last week, and met with IESO officials who were aware of the issues raised in Gossage's presentation, which she had also sent their way. She also said that the decision on the current procurement will be made in the second quarter of 2026.
Councillor Susan Irwin said “thank you for all this information. It would have been nice if we had this before we provided support for the application.”
Council directed staff to look at developing a process to deal with similar requests in the future, and at asking IESO to change their process as well.
Excluded Expenses Report.
Not wanting to “get into the weeds” , Treasurer Michael McGovern presented a report about foreseeable future costs that the township needs to put money aside for. Of the major costs are the landfill closure costs, which are estimated at $3.7 million and the township has $717,000 in reserves. The second is post employment costs, which are $433,000 and the township has $105,000 in reserves.
“So, we are nowhere near where we need to be, but we are trying to eat away at them every year as possible,” said Mcgovern.
Sharbot Lake Housing Project Grant Application
Council to meet on February 11 for a session with 2B developments, the consultant working on developing a housing project at the former site of Sharbot Lake Public School.
“We are going to spend 3 or 4 hours to come up with what would be best for that site, before we go to the public. Our meeting will hopefully bring us to some kind of direction that we would like it to go, and we will see if that is something that can be made a reality,” said Mayor Frances Smith.
Smith’s comments came about in the context of the opening of a new Federal Build Canada Homes (BCH) application portal at the end of January.
According to information provided by Lindsay Blair of 2B consulting, who is working on the planning for the Sharbot lake project and will be facilitating the session on February 11, “a high volume of applications is expected with the opening of the BCH application portal, and an early submission has been advised as advantageous.”
Councillors Phillip Smith and Lynn Klages both asked how the township can apply for funding before even determining the scope of the project, including the number of units being planned for, and the estimated costs.
Chief Administrative Officer Kathy MacMunn said that submitting the funding application “does not obligate the township to accept funding, enter into financial agreements, or proceed with construction”. “All it really is about, is getting our foot in the door,” she said.
