Pickelball Nation at Central Frontenac Council

Jul 06, 2022

Last year, the Sharbot Lake Pickleballers transformed the derelict tennis court at the former public school into an active Pickle Ball court, using money they fundraised themselves.

Last week, at a regular meeting of Central Frontenac Council (June 28) the Pickleballers; including Sandy Robertson, Doug Estoc, and Kelli McRobert, came to Council looking to find out if council is able to guarantee them access to the court for 5 years.

The court, as it stands, is only good enough for beginning or casual Pickleballers, and it has no washroom facilities.

“It is time for something better,” said Sandy Roberston, “and we can find the money for it.”

“So, what do you want from us?” asked Mayor Frances Smith.

“We need a commitment from you that we can use it for 5 or 10 years,” said Robertson.

The entire Sharbot Lake Public School site is slated for redevelopment as a senior’s housing project, and the timelines for that project are unclear.

“There is a public meeting on July 13 about communal servicing, which could have a big impact on the housing project,” said Frances Smith. “We might know how long it will be before that land can be developed after that meeting.”

Doug Estoc brought another option to council. The option of building a 4 or 6 Pickleball court facility at the Railway Heritage Park site, which is across the township office at the junction between the East-West Trans Canada and K&P Trails.

“We could build on that site,” he said, “without worrying about what will come of the senior’s housing project.”

The important thing, according to Kelli McRobert, a new(ish) resident of Central Frontenac who is a Pickleball ambassador with connections to Pickleball Canada, “is the quality of the courts. Pickleballers will travel to good courts, and when they are there, they are happy to shop at local restaurants and stores. And, we can find the money to build, as long as we have a location.”

Members of Council all expressed support for developing a Pickleball facility in Sharbot Lake, and rather than leaving the matter for another meeting, an ad hoc committee was struck, including two members of Council and representatives from the Pickleball group, to meet this month and work on a solution. Victor Hesse and Nicki Gowdy were appointed from Council. The committee will report back to Council in July, or August.

Hurricane Marlene no match for buzz-saw Tysen

A proposal for the re-development of Mathew Street, a short, steep stretch of road between Elizabeth Street and Medical Centre Road in Sharbot Lake, was on the agenda at the meeting. But before the proposal came up, Marlene Bertrim, who has lived at the junction of the Elizabeth and Mathew for 60 years, appeared before council.

She asked Council if they knew about Hurricane Hazel McCallion from Mississauga. Betrim said that although and said she is only 84 (McCallion is 101), but just as determined. She then said that the proposal that was coming to council to turn Mathew Street into a one-way road “is not a good idea, and it will not solve the traffic problems at that spot that come from the through fire road access at the Cardinal Café. There hasn’t been an accident on Mathew in 60 years.”

She said that traffic stemming from the Café’ is the real problem, not Mathew Street.

“I have something else to tell you. You should make the parking on Elisabeth Street short term parking so Community Living staff don’t park there all day, every day. That would provide parking for the Café customers, and keep them off Road 38, where they block the sightlines for people turning from Elizabeth Street onto Road 38.”

Not long after Marlene Bertrim was done with her remarks, Public Works Manager Tysen Myers brought his proposal for the redevelopment of Mathew Street to the table.

He said, “I would like to thank Marlene for her ideas. We will definitely look into them.”

He then prefaced his proposal by saying he had considered bringing it to council earlier, but wanted to have all of the details worked out.

“We have presented this to the residents of Mathew Stree,” he said.

The project is being funded with money that was left over from the larger Sharbot Lake re-development project that was completed in 2020. It calls for Mathew to become a one-way road for vehicular traffic, going down the hill to Medical Centre Road, the beach and the K&P Trail. It also includes a pedestrian and bicycle path. It incorporates changes in the way Medical Centre Road will be set up for parking, and a brand-new drain at the foot of Mathew, where the existing drain is failing.

Members of Council had a number of questions about the proposal, but approved it in the end, which was fortunate because the project had already gone to tender. Later in the meeting, the bid from Crain’s Construction for $620,000 on the project was also accepted by Council, and work could begin on it later this summer or early this fall.

Trillium Grant application

The Trillium Foundation has a special grant deadline in early August for an arts/cultural or recreation/athletic spaces project, and Public Works Manager Myers proposed said that after considering a number of potential projects, the public rink project at the Sharbot Lake Ball Diamond site, which is adjacent from Granite Ridge Education Centre, was chosen.

“It is the only project that would be eligible, due to the timelines and the criteria for the August 3 intake” Myers said in a report to Council.

Councillor Gowdy asked why the Tichborne rink would not be suitable for the grant, pointing out that $35,000 has been raised for that rink though community fundraising.

“As far as I know, the final location for the Tichborne/Parham rink has not been determined, and this needs to go in next month,” Myers said.

There is money for the rink project in the 2022 budget, and between the budgeted funds and the grant, the project will be able to be completed this year if the grant application is successful.

Fire hall repairs

Council approved a proposal by Fire Chief Chris McDonough to install drains in the apparatus bays at the Sharbot Lake Fire Hall.

“Apparently, the decision was made not to install the drains when the hall was built, but they are necessary,” he said. The cost is $69,000 and Bel-Con construction will be doing the work.

The same fire hall also requires a new roof, which Bel-Con is also doing, at a cost of $190,000.

The hall was built in 2007, at a cost of $500,000.

Councillor Brent Cameron asked Chief McDonough what this would mean for the life of the 15 year-old facility and McDonough said it would be good for the next 20 years.