South Frontenac Storrington District Council Election

Gord Boulton

Gord Boulton is a lifelong resident in the Battersea area. His father owned and operated Boulton Septic before selling that business, and Gord has had a career in policing, in both Kingston and Gananoque, before taking early retirement to pursue business interests in his own backyard.

He has a wilderness property, over 1,000 acres, and runs Rockridge Outfitters, a hunting and fishing outfitting and guiding operation, on his property, and some leased land. He is also a partner in a land development company in South Frontenac.

“When I got out of policing, I wanted to get into politics. My mum was on the recreation committee for fifteen years, and public service is something I am drawn to.

When Alto came up, I got involved in the opposition to that project by co-founding Save South Frontenac with Katie Koopman. Going through that has made me even more interested, and I have the time available to devote to being on council now.

He said that he has had experience dealing with the township on building and planning matters.

“My experiences have been fine, but then again, I am generally not in a hurry. If it takes two weeks for a meeting, that is okay with me, but for some who have a lot of hopes and dreams tied up in a project and are facing a timing crunch, a faster response is necessary. I think the department in South Frontenac is overworked, and with technology and AI, a lot can be streamlined relatively simply.”

He thinks the township should look at its recreational facilities to see which ones are no longer being used regularly, to see if that can be changed or if it may be time to make changes. He also thinks the township could make it easier, and cheaper, for residents to make more use of township facilities, by relaxing some of the insurance requirements.

He would like to see the township phase out dog tags, which are something “that very few people need anymore.”

He said that Storrington District is the most populated in South Frontenac, and its residents pay the most property tax, but is under-served by the township, in terms of support and infrastructure.

“Money is spent elsewhere in the township, but with the highest population base, Storrington is due for the next capital investment after being passed over for so long.”

He looks at Battersea, and sees a “town that used to be thriving but is not anymore. It is down to one bar and one store. That’s it.

“There is someone who has purchased 30% of the property in the town, and wants to develop, and the township is waiting to hear from him. I have been tempted to approach him myself, but did not think it was appropriate, not being on council. I will if I get elected.”

Norm Roberts

Norm Roberts has represented Storrington District on South Frontenac Council since 2014. He first ran for council because he felt privileged to have been able to live and work in Inverary since 1996, and wanted to help move the community forward.

He said that he enjoys being a member of council, bringing local interests to the table and advocating for recreation, and maintaining and enhancing services, while being careful when it comes to budgeting.

He is originally from Hare Bay, Newfoundland, and like many Newfoundlanders, he went west, to Alberta, in the 1960s. He met his future wife in Alberta and they eventually moved to Belleville. They moved to the Inverary area 30 years ago, when his wife, who was with the federal government, was transferred to Kingston.

Norm, a woodworker by trade, was able to work anywhere, and he set up NCDD Woodworking in Inverary. He also brought his interest in recreation, from Belleville, where he had been involved in the minor hockey federation. He was one of the first people to join the Storrington Recreation Committee, when South Frontenac started up in 1998, and has remained involved.

His lifelong direct involvement in hockey and soccer leagues has led him to work on facility upgrades as a member of council.

He said that Council has had a good four years in this term, and that while there have been challenges, there have not been that many issues of concern between local residents and the township, with the exception of the Alto train project.

“We have been very strong, as a council, in our opposition to Alto disrupting our residents, and our way of life,” he said.

One of the changes that have impacted residents in the most recent council term, was the change in recycling collection to a new system.

“There were some issues when that was first brought in, and I did what I could to bring resident concerns forward. But within a couple of weeks, things settled down, and as far as I know it has been running smoothly ever since,” he said.

In the next term of council, he thinks budgeting will be the biggest challenge faced by the township.

“I think the biggest thing is going to be affordability, keeping our budget reasonable,” he said. “It all comes down to some of the big projects, and there are a couple that are coming that have an impact in Storrington.”

He said that he is interested in promoting a couple of issues that are of particular concern to him.

One is in the context of the new wildland fire master plan. Residents are able to bring brush from their property to the township waste site in Verona, but that is not that helpful for Storrington residents, and residents throughout the township, who do not have access to a truck or a trailer.

“Household pickup, once or twice a year, would be a good service for the township to provide,” he said.

“I am also looking to see that we keep improving our boat launches. They need some attention.”

Ron Sleeth

Ron Sleeth started out in municipal politics in Storrington Township in 1979, making him the voice of experience not only in South Frontenac, but in Frontenac County as a whole.

He served as reeve and Frontenac County warden in 1994, and took a break from council when municipal amalgamation came into force in 1998, which coincided with him taking on the role of chair-person with Holstein Canada.

He returned to council in Storrington District of South Frontenac, in 2010, and has served four terms. He was acclaimed in 2014 and 2018, and in 2022 he received the most votes, in a five-way contest.

“I feel that my experience is valuable,” he said, “we are facing some significant financial pressures at this time, part of it coming from the asset management process, and we are going to have to deal with it in a way that our ratepayers can both understand and afford.”

He said that the recommendations in a consultant report need to be adjusted by Council and Staff.

“They were calling for a 6% increase for asset management alone, which would put us at 9 or 10 per cent per year. That is not feasible, so we are going to have to make some difficult decisions.”

That being said, he is enthusiastic about the Verona Housing Project, that is a township initiative.

“We learned a lot with this project and that will help us do more. We can look to Sydenham, where we have purchased some land, and in Storrington after that,” he said.

During this term of council, the township approved an Official Plan, after some lengthy debate.

“I wasn’t happy with parts of it. Our growth and prosperity as a township has come from lot development, on township roads, and the province does not support that. We pushed for some means of creating more individual severances, but they have put limits on that. That is not helpful for us,” he said.

As a lifelong farmer, and a supporter and member of the Frontenac and Ontario federations of Agriculture, he supports any measures the township can put in place to support the farming community in Storrington, and across the township.

He has been the council representative on Conservation Authority (CA) boards, and shares the concerns of others about the implications of the amalgamation of CAs and the decrease in municipal representation on those boards, which will be limited to Frontenac County Council members.