Central Frontenac Council Report

Central Frontenac Council held their only meeting in June, on the 23rd. After cancelling the first meeting of the month due to staff absences, they had a full agenda to work through, including several planning reports for road closings, a number of varied delegations and reports from every department. One delegation stood out however, because of the unusual topic that it revealed, the fact that the township has an entranceway bylaw, and that it applies to paving.

Over the last few years, Eastern Ontario Paving Company signs have been common in the Sharbot Lake area as the Maberly based company has paved dozens of driveways in the vicinity of the village. But the rental property owned by Rhonda Kimberley Young and Bob Young at the foot of Mathew Street, across from the new Sharbot Lake beach washroom, appears to be the only one to have been identified as requiring a permit of sorts, from the township.

In her presentation to Council, Rhonda Kimberley Young described how a conversation with the neighbouring property owner, about the Young’s plans to pave the driveway, had led her to ask at the township office, to Chief Administrator Cathy MacMunn, whether there was any requirement for a license or a permit to pave a driveway or laneway on private property.

This is where the confusion started. Kimberly-Young said that MacMunn told her she did not have to consult with the township, but then called later to say that there is in fact an entranceway bylaw and the township needed to be informed and to give the go-ahead. There is no fee involved, but as Public Works Manager Steve Gould pointed out, there can be concerns to the township if a private laneway paving job diverts water onto township property.

Kimberly-Young then said first that the property on Mathew Street is lower than the roadway, so drainage goes the other way, and wondered if all the properties that have had paving done had been required to involve the township.

“The paving company said they have never heard about this and they work in Sharbot Lake all the time,” she said.

The township is also concerned, Steve Gould said, with the point of contact between the private lane and the public roadway.

Kimberly-Young said she is not so much opposed to having to consult the township or take out a free permit, as with the fact that this seemed to be applied in only one case. She also pointed out that when she was told about the requirement she asked for a copy of the bylaw.

Gould said that the bylaw states that every time someone alters the entranceway to their property from a township roadway, they need a permit. The permits are free, but they give the township an opportunity to evaluate what is being done for safety and drainage issues.

Councillor Nicki Gowdy pointed out the bylaw has been in place since 2021 and wondered if everyone who has paved their driveway since then are now expected to come in and get a retroactive permit, a list that includes not only herself, but CAO MacMunn as well.

“That’s entirely up to Council.” Gould said.

“I am concerned that this could be a major cost to the township, in staffing, “ said Kimberly-Young. “I thank Council for the opportunity to bring this to your attention, and I appreciate getting a copy of the bylaw today. We asked for it three weeks ago, but it is good to get it today.”

Mayor Smith said that now that this has been brought forward, Council will take the opportunity to look at the bylaw to see if it should be altered.

Arden Cenotaph proposal

Terry Kennedy from the Friends of Arden, accompanied by Lucy Kujadt from Arden Legion Branch 334 told Council about a joint project they are working on, to bring the Arden Cenotaph back into good repair. They are looking at repairing the flagpoles, some landscaping and maintenance work, and perhaps new benches and fencing. Since the property is township-owned, they came to council before designing, costing and fundraising for the improvements/

“We are looking for Township to permit us to propose these improvements and to provide financial management support, as well as provide tax receipts for donations,” he said.

Council thanked Kennedy and Kujadt for bringing this forward and said they were happy to get behind the project. They will return to a future meeting with a firm proposal and costing.

Building Report

There is no Chief Building Official currently in place, to talk about the building report that came to council. The report showed a marked softening in building permits in May, as compared to either of the last two years. Permits for $615,000 in construction were taken out in May of this year, down from $1.8 million in May of 2025, and $2.5 million in 2024. The year to date total for 2026 is $3.7 million, which is also down. By the end of May, the total was $4.4 million last year, and $6.9 million in 2024.

Public Works Report

The Public Works Yard on Road 38 South of Parham, has been in a state of construction limbo for months, with the shells of two storage buildings, the large salt shed and a smaller storage shed, dominating the landscape, dwarfing the existing township garage buildings at the site.

All that will change relatively soon, according to Steve Gould. The tarp to cover the smaller building should be installed in a week or two, and an rfp for the rebuild of the large salt shed ended late last week, with three companies bidding on the job.

When asked by Councillor Philip Smith about storing the sand/salt mix the township will require for next winter, Gould said the completion date for the large storage shed is November 1, but some materials will be held in the new shed just in case there is delay in the other project. He was confident there will be no outdoor storage of sand/salt at the site, like there was this past winter.

The township will also look this week at Wagner Road, where a paved section has deteriorated. They are contemplating ripping up the pavement and bringing the road to a more consistent, drivable, standard as a gravel road.

Mayor Smith recalled that this was done to the Zealand Road when the pavement failed, and the road is in better shape as a well maintained gravel road than it was before.

“When roads are surface treated without the proper base underneath, they often fail,” she said.

Motion Regarding Hwy. 7

A motion asking Council to write to the relevant provincial ministries about the fact that there is no passing lane on Hwy. 7 at any point in the 40km stretch it runs through Central Frontenac.

This makes the heavily traveled road more dangerous because of unsafe high-speed passes, according to councillor Bill MacDonald, who brought the motion forward,. There are passing lanes to the east, just east of Maberly, and to the west, just before Kaladar.

MacDonald pointed out that the ministry may be interested in pursuing this because there are three provincial assets in the Central Frontenac section of the highway, Sharbot Lake and Silver Lake Provincial Park and the White Lake Fish hatchery, as well as Arden, Mountain Grove and Sharbot Lake. He said that he realises changes to like this can be years, maybe decades, in the making, but they need to be brought the government’s attention persistently over time in order to come about.