North Frontenac Ward 2

Roy Huetl

When Roy Huetl was elected to Council for Ward 2 in 2022, he thought his experience in municipal government at York Region as Director of Water and Wastewater, would be an asset for the position, in order to represent all residents of North Frontenac.

It was a natural step for him to seek out a role as NF Representative on the board of the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA), bringing the perspective of the Buckshot Lake Association, which he chairs. Buckshot is part of the Mississippi River sub-watershed.

Roy became the first ever Chair of the MVCA Board from North Frontenac, which added more responsibility to his plate. The work load then ramped up exponentially when the province of Ontario decided unilaterally to amalgamate its conservation authorities. MVCA is becoming part of the new St. Lawrence River Regional Conservation Authority, along with three other organisations that had been independent, until now. He is part of the transition team, all the while trying to advocate for the interests of North Frontenac.

“Along with threats to the septic inspection, shoreline protection, and water quality analysis programs potentially being lost, my biggest concern with the new conservation authority is that all of the dams and infrastructure in North Frontenac will not have the same priority in the larger conservation authority,” he said.

One of his goals in seeking a second term on council will be to seek the role of second county rep to Frontenac County, along with the mayor, so he will be in a position to be appointed to the new regional conservation board, in order to protect the financial interests of the township and the environmental integrity of the lakes.

In terms of local issues, he said that budgeting is always a challenge for North Frontenac, with increases due to inflation, policing costs and asset management.

Even though he was one of the voices opposing the Lafolia Lane proposal that was supported by Frontenac County Planners, complicating matters for the township at an Ontario Land Tribunal hearing that is pending, he supports continuing to rely on the County for planning.

“Overall, they do a great job,” he said. “We don’t always agree with them, but they are very responsive and committed.”

He is also concerned about Clarendon Central Public School, the only school in the township, which is the smallest school in the Limestone District School Board.

“I'm always concerned about our school getting less support from the school board than it needs,” he said.

Rob Lesperance

Rob Lesperance describes himself as a “thorn in Council's side” during much of this council term, but says that his perspective could change if he ends up sitting on the council side of the table, for the next four years.

He acknowledged the strengths of each current member of council when he appeared before council last month, paying extra attention to the councillors who are not seeking re-election.

But that does not mean he intends to shy away from some of the issues that he feels strongly about, should he be elected.

“I have a desire to make it easier for folks to get the information they need. For the average worker it is hard to get to the meetings because they are held in the daytime, and finding information on the website is horrible. There has to be some improvement there,” he said.

He arrived in North Frontenac from Trenton in 2003, after visiting the township in the summer time when he was young. He started up a company, Southpaw Carpentry, and has built a family and a life in North Frontenac.

As a builder in the township, he has gotten to know a lot of people, and has come to the conclusion that North Frontenac will grow as a tourist destination over the next 10-20 years, but it is struggling now and will keep struggling to maintain and grow its work force because of a lack of affordable housing, for people who are just starting out, and for seniors looking to remain in the community.

“I would like to do what I can, to get affordable housing here,” he said.

He brought a proposal for an affordable housing development of 6 small homes to Council, and the housing advisory committee last year, which “got a lot of push back because it called for the township to build the units and lease them out. No one on council wanted to commit that kind of money up front, and I understand their concern. But I will keep chipping away at it, because I believe in it,” he said.

As a fall back, he said Council may consider a grant for a developer to cover the cost of permits and a year or two of property taxes, as an enticement to invest.

Apart from the housing file, he has remained current on other issues at the council table, from the continuing possibility of Alto coming through, to the Battery Energy Storage Project proposal, and the Ontario Land Tribunal hearings the township will be facing next year.

As a builder he wants to make sure that when someone comes forward with a proposal “and they follow all the rules that they have been given, Staff and Council will help them get it approved, in good time.”

Wayne Manion

Wayne Manion is a lifelong resident of Ardoch, and has worked in road construction for his father as young man, with his brother and for Crains Construction and now Gemmill’s.

Over his career he has put in and/or maintained dozens of private roads in the township, and decades ago he was contracted by the Ministry of Natural Resources to grade logging and other roads on Crown Land, some of them being roads now covered under the township’s Crown Land Access Program. He has also put in serptic systems throughout the township

He is now mostly retired, and has time to devote to township issues.

Two of the reasons he cited for seeking a council position is that he wanted there to be an option for Ward 2 voters in this election, and because there are very few homegrown members of North Frontenac Council.

“I think the perspective of someone who grew up, went to school and built their life in this community is important, and I at least wanted to give voters to have a local person represent them,” he said.

Based on his experience as a septic installer, he does not think that there is a major issue with failed septic systems and said he us unlikely to support a mandatory septic inspection program, because of the potential cost.

“I think council is overstepping when they start interfering on private property.”

He also said that council should resist pressures to assume maintenance of private lanes.

“If you do it for one person you would have to do it for everybody, he said, and that would add up,” he said.

He said that he would not come to council with a specific set of issues, preferring to keep and open mind while at the same time understanding the limited capacity of local residents to pay for improved levels of service.

“I don’t want to make any promises,” he said, “my goal is to give back to the community and to look out for the whole township.”

He brings a lot of experience working in the community with him, including years as a heart and stoke foundation volunteer, acting as the board chair of the St. Killian cemetery, and membership in the Federation of Anglers and on the board of Conservationists of Frontenac Addington (COFA)

He said that he has seen people come to the community because they wanted to get of the city bring the city with them to the country and start making changes.

“And then they get tired of the country and head back to the city, leaving us to deal with the problems they caused.