Sharbot Lake Public School Site Back on CF Agenda

Jeff Green | Apr 02, 2025

Tyler Lalonde, the Administrative Coordinator for the Frontenac Municipal Services Corporation (FMSC) brought a presentation about the corporation, which is partly owned by the township, and also introduced the new, part-time Chief Executive Officer Justin Bromberg.

The corporation is devoted to fostering the construction and management of small scale, site specific water and sewage systems at suitable locations throughout Frontenac County. This will enable more density and a greater mix of housing and commercial developments in the county, whose mix of small communities is not suitable for traditional municipal water and sewage services.

The current pilot project for the services is the Verona Housing development, which is being developed by the township of South Frontenac. Construction will hopefully get underway for that project in 2026. Another pilot that has been identified for FMSC support is the Sharbot Lake Public School site.

If a communal servicing application is viable on that site, Tyler Lalonde said, “it would be able to accommodate a variety of uses, instead of a limit of 5 residential units on a traditional well and septic system.

“Part of the corporation's work is to seek a streamlining of environmental assessment processes for these kinds of developments,” said Lalonde, “and we are working towards that end with the provincial government.” The corporation hopes that private development in
Frontenac County will become more attractive once the Verona project is underway.”

Sharbot Lake Public School Site Frontenac County Manager of Planning Sonya Bolton appeared before Council via Zoom. She was seeking approval for a preliminary list of permitted uses on the site, as a starting point for an environmental assessment, and other necessary
studies, prior to the site being open to development.

The potential for the 2 acre site to provide a mix of housing, commercial and recreational uses, is dependent on using communal servicing.

The list Bolton brought forward is divided into categories. Under Residential uses, it includes apartment (multi-residential), and dwelling – Row/Townhouse.

Under the heading Institutional/public uses, it includes: Community Garden, Continuum-of-Care Facility, Library, Museum, Park, Place of Assembly, Place of Worship, Public Service Use, School-private. There are a number commercial uses listed, including Recreational Commercial and retail store.

Councillor McGregor asked Bolton if pulling one or more of the potential uses would speed up the environmental assessment process, and she said she did not know but would find out. He also asked if Pickleball or a multi-use court, which is in place on the site currently, is included in the list. Bolton said it would be found generally as a Park, and more specifically as a Recreational Establishment.

She said that pools are not being considered because of the high water use, which could lessen the potential for housing on the site.

Appeals Board in Central Frontenac Former council member Brent Cameron appeared as a delegate. He spoke about the Safe Yards Bylaw that is slated to return to Council next month. He said that others have come before Council to talk about different provisions in the
bylaw, but he wanted to talk about setting up an appeals board, with Council and members of the public, to provide residents with a means to appeal fines and other orders under the existing and proposed new bylaw.

Councillor Susan Irwin pointed out that an appeals process is included in the bylaw, although it does not include a formal board. Council received Cameron's proposal.

Pumper Apparatus Proves Pricey: Fire Chief Chris McDonough appeared before Council to talk about results of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a pumper apparatus. The best proposal, based on a scoring system set up to evaluate RFP's, was for $1.2 million for a piece of equipment that can be delivered within 60 days of purchase. The other two proposals were for equipment that will not be delivered for two years. In light of the cost, and the potential impact of tariffs on costing that is already over budget, McDonough asked Council if he could look more seriously at a company in Quebec that is able to put the apparatus together, at what might be a lower cost. Council said yes.