Central Frontenac Council - Jan. 12/10

Jeff Green | Jan 14, 2010

OMB hearing delay rejected

An Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing is scheduled for February 2 in Sharbot Lake to consider Central Frontenac Township’s approvals for a five-unit seniors’ home on Clement Road in the township’s Oso ward.

At their council meeting on January 12, Council received a request from Bob Clark of Clark Consulting, who represents Roy Sepa, the resident on Clement Road who launched the OMB appeal of the township’s planning decisions. Mr. Sepa has argued that the Clement Road location for the housing unit is inappropriate for a number of reasons and that the township’s planning and approvals process has been flawed.

In his letter to the township and the township’s lawyer, Mr. Clark made a request that the hearing be rescheduled “to allow residents, who have filed appeals on the various matters being considered at this hearing, an opportunity to properly prepare for the hearing.”

Tony Fleming, the township’s lawyer, is also representing the agency that is planning to build the units, North Frontenac Not-For-Profit Housing, at the OMB hearing. He prepared a draft response to Mr. Clark’s request to the township, which says that the township does not consent to the adjournment. The response cites that the hearing was announced in early December, and Mr. Sepa would have known it was coming before that. It also says that the project is making use of time-sensitive government grants that would be jeopardised by any further delay.

Council voted to adopt the draft letter and opposed the request for delay.

INSURANCE INCREASES: Debra Murphy appeared before council on behalf of Frank Cowan Insurance Co., which has insured the township for the past nine years.

Murphy explained that recent court decisions and the fact that the company has paid out more to Central Frontenac over the last few years than they received in premiums have led the company to seek an increase in excess of 20% over the $125,000 that the township paid in 2008.

The township has made claims for two trucks, one for over $175,000, “and most significantly, there is an environmental loss over the Godfrey salt shed that is by no means settled” Murphy said.

In order to mitigate the increase, Murphy recommended that the township set the deductible for all categories of potential loss at $10,000. In most cases, the deductible has been in the $2,500 range, and Murphy said that based on the last nine years of claims, the township would have been better off financially with a higher deductible and lower premiums. With the uniform $10,000 deductible, the premium for 2010 is just under $140,000.

Councilor Norman Guntensperger, supported by Councilor John Purdon, wondered how the township could give the contract to Cowan Insurance without putting it out to tender. “Any other contract of this size would go to tender. In fact, I’m not sure we can even do this under our procurement bylaw,” Guntensperger said.

“I suggest we accept Cowan this year, and instruct staff to put this out to tender every four years, starting next year so it coincides with the new council,” said Councilor Frances Smith. “There are only two companies that offer this kind of insurance.”

Council voted 7-1 (Councilor Guntensperger was opposed and Councilor Gary Smith was absent) to accept the contract and instruct staff to put the insurance contract out to tender before the end of 2010.

ISLAND SEPTICS – Council voted to endorse an application to the Community Futures Development Corporation by the Frontenac Stewardship Council for a $5,500 grant to develop a business case for an existing or a new company to begin offering septic pumping services to island properties in the region.

ONE MORE GRANT APPLICATION – The township is applying for a $500,000 matching grant for transportation improvements. If successful, a portion of the money will go to the village of Arden, a portion to the village of Sharbot, and a portion in the Piccadilly area. Sidewalks are a major concern that will be addressed if the application is successful. “There is $27 million in this program, and it is for all of southern Ontario, so we may not have that much of a chance,” said Chief Administrative Officer John Duchene.

MOUNTAIN GROVE RECREATION – A meeting will be held next Monday, January 18 at 4:30 pm in the Olden Fire hall to discuss a proposal for a new recreation facility on the adjacent property. The Olden Recreation Committee and other community members are hoping to build a new baseball field and add more facilities as well at the site, which is handy to the public school and residences in Mountain Grove.

“We will be mostly discussing the process by which we will decide what the project will look like,” said Public Works Manager Mike Richardson.

“What about the cost of this? It will be a big project,” said Councilor Bill Snyder.

“My understanding is that it will be community-driven and will include public fundraising,” said Mayor Janet Gutowski. “We are just at the beginning. Later on we will look at where the money is going to come from.”

HEALTH UNIT AND SEPTIC PERMITS – On behalf of building departments in Frontenac and L&A counties, council decided to support a letter from Frontenac Islands Township that asks the Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington Public Health Unit to delay plans to pull out of doing inspections for septic permits.

John Duchene said he is scheduled to attend a meeting at the health unit later this week on this subject.

Mayor Gutowski, who represents Frontenac County on the board of the health unit, said, “The board has made no decision on this matter. In October, we were advised that staff were doing preliminary consultation for consideration about rescinding the service, and the matter has not been brought back to us since then. But the information we are receiving from the municipalities is that health unit staff have been talking about the schedule for removal of the service. As a board member, I am definitely disappointed about this.”