South Frontenac Council instructed staff and the Planning Department to look into regulating outdoor solid fuel combustion appliances (ie outdoor wood-burning furnaces) following a report from Fire Chief Rick Chesebrough at its regular meeting Tuesday night in Sydenham.

In his report, Chesebrough cited an incident Feb. 13 where his department along with the CAO, Chief Building Official and the Ministry of the Environment all received calls from a Portland resident complaining of smoke from a neighbour’s outdoor furnace entering the resident’s house.

Subsequent similar calls were received on Feb. 14 and 15.

Chesebrough said that on the evening of Feb. 15, “a 911 call was placed stating ‘house full of smoke, occupant having difficulty breathing’; the fire department responded and provided first aid and notified ambulance to respond.

“There were zero readings in the house, however there was a smell of smoke.”

Chesebrough said the owner of the furnace has installed an extension on the chimney of the furnace in an effort to alleviate the problem and a meeting between the MOE and township staff has been scheduled for Feb. 24 to further discuss the issue.

He said that under the laws governing fire departments, there isn’t much he can do as the furnace was installed legally and to the manufacturer’s specifications.

“I’m recommending the Planning Department draft a bylaw to regulate how these appliances are used and the Building Department create a permit system similar to the wood stove permit system to incorporate into our existing fees bylaw,” Chesebrough said.

“I don’t remember many of these incidents coming up but they’re not unique,” said Coun. John McDougall, adding that he was familiar with the houses in question. “I support the idea of a bylaw but it won’t be retroactive so it doesn’t rectify this situation.”

“I wonder if there isn’t a bigger issue as to these (furnaces) being installed at all,” said Coun. Brad Barbeau. “What with the price of oil, gas, and heating in general, perhaps some provincial lobbying might be in order.”

In response to a question from Coun. Mark Schjerning, Chesebrough said the MOE indicated that they did have some powers in these matters. He added that this particular unit was also used to heat water and that these systems in general can cost $10,000-$20,000 with $1,000 for copper piping alone.

Mayor Ron Vandewal said “we’ve been through this before and a lot of regulations have been suggested, like set backs which meant I couldn’t have one of these on my 100-acre farm.

“If you’re going to restrict these units then you’ll have to look at bungalows that have wood stoves because some of them don’t have chimneys higher than 10 feet.”

Solar panels at arena
Council gave its approval for staff and the arena committee to look at the possibility of solar installations at the arena, following a notice of motion from Coun. Ross Sutherland.

Sutherland said the idea of whether it would be a rooftop installation or a ground installation hasn’t been determined as yet.

“Just keep in mind that roof is 40 years old,” said Dep. Mayor Norm Roberts.

“I’ll support it because I notice the word ‘consider’ is in there,” said Mayor Ron Vandewal. “We’ve ‘considered’ it before and there’s still nothing there.”

Rob Hitchcock, from Abundant Solar, brought mapping which showed that the true location of a proposed solar project near Flinton is in a dormant field at the rear of Lot 20, Con. 5, Flinton.

The previous presentation had shown the project location in the front of the lot, in a field that is in agricultural production, within close proximity to three houses on the same lot and three more across the road.

The new location is in a dormant field and is much easier to block using existing tree cover. It is also located further from neighbouring property owners.

Councilor Bill Cox, who lives on the same lot, had expressed concerns about the initial site. He was concerned about how the view from his own and his neighbours’ homes would be affected by a project that was to be located about 150 metres from his front door. He asked for a deferral of a motion of municipal support for the project when it was presented to Council earlier in the month.

At that time he was looking for more information about plans for berms and tree cover.

“This location does not impact any of the neighbours in the same way, and when I talked to the neighbour who has leased the land for the project, he said the project was always set for the site at the back of the lot. It was a mistake by the people who were preparing the presentation that led to the confusion,” said Cox when contacted this week.

When the motion of support was brought back to the floor at the Addington Council meeting on Monday night (September 19) in Denbigh, it was passed unanimously.

There was talk before the vote about conflict of interest. However, since Bill Cox has no financial interest in the project, and courts have upheld the position of the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation that Green Energy projects do not impact property values, Cox did not declare a conflict and voted in favour of the motion.

The project will now go the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) “Feed in Tariff” procurement bidding process. Approval for all projects under this round of procurement will be announced early in 2017.

Organisational review to be the subject of special meeting

A special meeting will be held in Flinton next Monday, September 26 at 10 am to discuss implementation of the Organisational Review that was presented to Council earlier this year.

The review was the subject of a letter from Jim Laginski, a representative from IUOE (Independent Union of Operating Engineers) Local 793. The IUOE represents workers in Addington Highlands, including Roads Superintendent Rosenblath. The union is concerned about the creation of a new tier of management, which has been proposed in the review. The managers would not be part of the union.

Reeve Hogg said, in an interview after this week's meeting, that he is concerned that the changes called for in the review will result in higher administration costs because of new management positions being created.

“I want to see a costing before I can support this,” he said.

Denbigh waste site

The township has been attempting get approval from the Ministry of the Environment to re-open the Denbigh waste site. This process has been ongoing for a number of years.

This week the township received a letter from the MoE, which said that the township is required to place clean fill at certain locations at the site. Council is hopeful that once this is done, the MoE will re-open the site, perhaps over the next six months.

Opponents are breathing a sigh of relief, and the Township of Addington Highlands is no longer in line for a $10 million infusion of money over 20 years.

All three wind proposals in Addington Highlands and North Frontenac failed to secure contracts under the Large Renewable Procurement (LRP) for Renewable Energy Projects, the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) announced this morning. As well, all of the solar proposals in South Frontenac also failed.

Two wind projects in Eastern Ontario did succeed, however, including a 32 MW project in the Municipality of The Nation near Ottawa, and a 100 MW project in North Stormont. A large solar farm in Stone Mills, 54 MW, also made the cut.

North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins was quick to respond to the news that the Northpoint 1 and Northpoint 2 projects, both of which are at least partially located in North Frontenac, were unsuccessful.

“So happy” Higgins tweeted out as soon as he heard, but then said that the township needs to be diligent in opposing turbines in the future, as a second, and possible third round of renewable energy procurements roll out.

Over in Addington Highlands, where the township supported two wind turbine proposals, Reeve Henry Hogg was on vacation last week when the winning bids were announced. When contacted this week after his return, he said that there would be implications to the township's budget, which is being worked on this month.

“If the contracts were coming this way, we would have considered borrowing to help cover the increase in OPP costs, as we would have been expecting an infusion of cash in about three years’ time. We won't be able to do that now,” he said.

As a sweetener, the two companies that were seeking municipal support in Addington Highlands, RES-Canada and NextEra, offered $500,000 per year for the 20-year life of the contracts once turbines were installed.

“I don't know if the companies will come back or when the next round will take place, but I am not looking forward to it, although my position has not changed,” said Hogg, referring to the controversy last summer that surrounded the decision his council made to support the projects. Police were called in to two council meetings, but although there was some booing and catcalling, there was nothing resembling a violent encounter at either meeting.

Of the two companies that submitted proposals locally, NextEra was shut out across the province in both wind and solar projects even though they submitted nine bids (six solar and three wind). RES-Canada did win two contracts out of 11 bids. Both of them are wind projects, one in Chatham-Kent, and one in the vicinity of Hawkesbury.

Neither company has commented since the announcement was made last week.

Although the IESO said that 75% of the projects that were selected are located in jurisdictions that were “willing hosts” like Addington Highlands, almost all the wind projects that were chosen, including both in Eastern Ontario, are in townships that are “unwilling hosts”.

Since wind projects tend to spark more controversy than solar projects, it is perhaps not surprising that of 25% of projects that went to municipalities who opposed them, wind projects were over-represented as compared to solar.

The results also suggest that the diverging positions taken by North Frontenac and Addington Highlands were not a key factor in the final result, which seems to have been driven primarily by price.

The average price per kilowatt hour among the chosen wind projects was 8.95 cents, as compared to 15.6 cents for solar and 17.5 cents for water-powered projects.

The 8.95 cent price is lower than the average price paid by the IESO currently, which is just over 9.2 cents, meaning with this latest set of contracts, wind is headed towards the top of the heap among renewable sources as far as price is concerned.

All of this suggests that as the controversy over wind power escalates in Ontario, its economic viability is on the rise as well.

There were also three large-scale solar projects proposed for South Frontenac. Two were supported by the township and one was opposed. None of them were successful.

The companies that have proposed wind projects in Addington Highlands and North Frontenac, and solar projects in South Frontenac will have to wait until early spring to find out if the Independent Electricity Service Operator (IESO) has accepted their bids under the Large Renewable Procurement (LRP) process for renewable energy projects.

A statement on the IESO website says that the delay has come about because of the unprecedented response to the LRP.

“Based on the high volume of proposals received in response to the LRP I RFP (103) and complexity of the evaluation process, the target date for the completion of the evaluation of proposals described in the Timetable has been extended to March 2016,” is the message that was posted on the site on November 20.

The original timetable for the announcement of the winning bids was set for November or December.

The wind projects have been controversial, sparking the establishment of a group called BEARAT (Bon Echo Area Ratepayers Against Turbines), and at least one of the solar projects, Collins Lake, which is located on Perth Road just south of Inverary, is also controversial.

South Frontenac Township Council has come out against the Collins Lake solar project, but they have supported other projects in the township. North Frontenac Township Council is also opposing the NorthPoint 1 wind turbine project, being developed by NextEra within their boundaries.

Addington Highlands Council has come out in favour of the NorthPoint 2 wind project of NextEra and the Denbigh wind project, which has been developed by Renewable Energy Systems of Canada.

At a hastily organized second public meeting to discuss a proposed 13 megawatt solar power project in close proximity to Inverary, representatives from Canadian Solar Solutions faced angry local residents.

Originally Canadian Solar had planned a single public meeting for the project, on Monday August 17 at the Invista Centre on Gardiners Road in Kingston. Since the Invista Centre is located a significant distance from the site of the project, and in a different municipality, a second meeting in Sydenham, at the meeting room in the public library, was convened on August 19. The second meeting also used a question and answer format, whereas the first had been set up as a Open House.

The project is sponsored by Suncorps as well as Canadian Solar, and Dillon Consulting has been hired for technical support. Representatives from all three companies were on hand.

Many members of the audience were carrying yellow signs calling for the project to be abandoned, and when the questioning began the tone was angry and sometimes aggressive.

The project is set to be located on two sites. The northwest corner of one of the larger properties is at the junction of Perth Road and Davidson Road. It extends south and west towards Holmes Road, and the second property is located to the west, on Davidson Road near the junction with Latimer Road.

There are 15 or so abutting properties to the lots that are proposed for the solar farms and those particular property owners were well represented at the meeting.

One of the first questions had to do with location.

“My wife and I, we understand about solar energy and the need for it, but why here? Why are you doing it right here where there is a major road and people are moving in all the time, and there is farming going on? Why here?” asked one man.

Tyler Balding from Canadian Solar, said that the reason his company, and a number of others, are developing proposals in the South Frontenac and Rural Kingston area, is that province is pushing for solar power generation in eastern Ontario.

“The province has asked for projects to be built in certain areas. All of northern Ontario is blocked off, and lately they have filtered us further, down to certain areas of eastern Ontario. These two sites that we are looking at are great locations, because of transformer capacity and because they are not classified as farmland but as rural,” said Balding.

A key factor for the proponents is the fact that there is a transformer that borders the large Perth Road/Davidson Road site, and there are high capacity Hydro One lines linking the smaller site to the same transformer.

Members of the audience challenged the assertion that the area is not agricultural. “My family has farmed there for generations,” said one man, “and while we may not be class 1 farmland, it is land that we have improved over generations, and we have worked to improve the land all that time. We make our living by working the land, not covering it up.”

There are seven classes of soil in Ontario and land that falls into class 1-3 is not available for solar farm development.

However, according to a representative from Dillon Consulting, the fact that the Municipality of South Frontenac has gone to the effort of identifying prime agricultural land as part of its Official Plan process over-rides provincial soil classification.

“In this township it is only prime ag lands that are restricted,” said the rep.

The majority of the issues raised had to do with the project being an incursion into a region that has seen steady and increasing residential development over the last 20 years.

“I moved to this community because I love it,” said a resident. “You should have come to see us before going forward with this.”

Council wastes no time in rejecting proposal

Flash forward six days, to Tuesday, August 25. The scene is the South Frontenac Council chambers, just meters away from the library meeting room. Most of the same people are in attendance, but Canadian Solar has a smaller delegation on hand, just two people, one of whom is Tyler Balding. As well, while only Mayor Vandewal attended the meeting in the library last week, the entire Council is at this meeting, sitting around the horseshoe-shaped council table.

The first delegate to address Council was Tyler Balding. In his 10-minute presentation, he said the company had listened to the public and was prepared to increase setbacks, ensure that neighbours were not impacted, and would gladly adhere to any conditions Council put forward in exchange for a motion of support.

After he spoke, the first question from Council came from Councilor Ron Sleeth.

But instead of asking a question, Sleeth put forward a notice of motion that Council reject the proposal out of hand and make that known to the province, the IESO, and other parties.

Council voted to waive the rule that notices of motion are deferred until the next meeting, and then voted unanimously in favour of Sleeth's motion.

Mayor Vandewal then asked if any of the 20 people who were also on the list as delegates, all of whom were going to speak against the proposed solar farm, still wanted to address Council.

A few did, including Mike Phillips, who said that he was told by a Canadian Solar employee that if the project is not supported by him and the township, the company will make no effort to shield his property from the solar panels if the project ends up being approved without municipal support.

“I should point out to everyone that our vote does not mean the project will be rejected by the IESO. We just represent a certain amount of points in the procurement process,” said Mayor Vandewal, “We've done what we can, but it is out of our hands now.”

All told, South Frontenac has supported two solar farm projects under the large scale procurement process; two others were pulled by the applicant; and they have now rejected one. The deadline for applications to the IESO for large scale solar projects is September 1, and a decision is expected in November.

A number of smaller projects under the Feed in Tariff or FIT program have also come before Council in recent months, and they have supported 25 of 26 that came to them.

I spent a day cycling through Prince Edward County recently, and I can't help thinking that this is a community that appreciates and understands the value of their rural heritage. They’ve done a great job of preserving their rural environment and developing tourism without ruining their inheritance. Unfortunately, here in South Frontenac we have no real plan that spells out how we will achieve sustainable development that will leave our heritage intact.

The “Strategic Plan” listed on the council’s website is really a strategic vision – and, it’s a good vision; but we don’t have a follow-on plan in place that defines how to develop and implement that vision. A true strategy requires that we define the secondary objectives, pertinent restrictions and opportunities that will ensure that we achieve our vision. All that detail is missing, and this is what’s truly alarming about the current approach to installing industrial scale solar fields in South Frontenac.

One councillor I spoke to thinks we should address the industrial solar fields issue one project at a time - which appears to be how council is now handling requests for installing industrial scale solar fields. This is a recipe for disaster. It’s an approach that ignores the reality that pressure to install industrial scale solar fields is a new development that threatens the rural character of South Frontenac and demands a clearly defined management plan. We haven’t got one.

If we want examples of well-managed rural development, we can look to the British, (and the French, the Italians, the Germans, the Danes and the Swedes…) They have all done a fabulous job of ensuring that the heritage of their countryside has been preserved and maintained for future generations. They fully understand that development doesn’t necessarily mean unfettered commercial exploitation and growth. They understand that progress has to be carefully groomed according to a vision that’s married to an implementable and enforceable plan.

If sensible strategic planning is conducted in accordance with the established and agreed upon vision for what Council has already defined as a desirable future for South Frontenac, the municipality will reject, or at the very least drastically and severely limit the plans of multi-billion dollar companies who would cheerfully ruin our countryside with industrial scale solar fields – It would also prevent the ominous and destructive secondary effect of corrupting our municipal political process with institutional bribes under the guise of a donation.

The recent casual adoption of Kingston’s criteria for solar fields has been a serious mistake. Uncritically adopting the criteria for a mid-sized city, as opposed to the needs of a rural township, doesn’t address our unique requirements or goals.

Before Council goes forward on deciding whether or not to approve any more industrial scale solar fields, it absolutely needs to define the following: how many of these industrial scale fields do we want in South Frontenac, how large can they be, what is the exact criteria for where they can and cannot go, and what public input will be allowed in these matters. Sadly, none of this is in place - and council has already started approving Industrial sized solar fields. Time to rethink the game plan!

Council rejects solar project over timing

South Frontenac Council has been friendly towards industrial solar projects that have come to them in search of support as part of a provincial procurement process that has a deadline of September 1 for final submissions. Not so with a proposal that just came to them this week from energy heavyweights Canadian Solar and Suncorps for a massive solar project on Perth Road and Davidson Road south of Inverary in Storrington District.

The project, which if built would cover almost 100 acres and produce 13 megawatts of power, is located in a part of the township that has seen much residential development recently, and the potential for further development was one of the reasons for council's kick back against the project, a point that was made by Mayor Ron Vandewal immediately after Tyler Balding from Canadian Solar made his preliminary pitch about the project.

“To me this is rather rushed. You haven't spent the time here to get our support,” said Councilor Ross Sutherland.

“We are a little behind the eight ball on this one,” agreed Balding, “but we do have the resources to make this work. We believe this is a project that could be of benefit to the community, and the country, and even humanity.”

Nonetheless, a motion of support for the project did not come forward from Council.

Mayor Vandewal said, “You can still hold your meetings, and submit the project without our support, we can't stop you from doing that, and maybe in the next round if you come back to us earlier on we will look at it, but not now,” said Vandewal.

From the audience, farming advocate Jeff Peters called out, “Back to Alberta with you,” a reference to SunCorps' base in the tar sands and other petroleum-related resources.

In a related matter, Council approved a resolution of support for the Bondfield solar project located on McAdoo and McCallum roads, also in Storrington District,

Modified proposal for Hartington subdivision

Recognizing the controversy over their proposed 47-lot subdivision proposal that straddles Boyce and Petworth Roads, Hartington, Mike Keene from Fotenn consulting presented a new proposal to Council.

The application seeks to create only 13 lots in this stage of the development, all of them located within the hamlet boundaries of Hartington, land which is earmarked for residential development in the township's Official Plan.

Although the road frontage for the lots is still 46 metres, significantly less than the township minimum of 76 metres, Keene said there are 10 other subdivisions in the township where the road frontage is 46 metres or less, setting a precedent for this development.

“We realize that when we came to you last month it was with a large development and there was public opposition. This time we are keeping to the hamlet, and we seek to demonstrate that the subdivision can work well in that location. We will not give up on the other part, but we are only seeking approval for this one at this time,” said Keene.

“I don't see any new information about the water issue. The water issue is paramount as far as I'm concerned,” said Councilor Ron Sleeth. “Water is the lifeblood of society and of all living creatures.”

“I'm not exactly sure what we could say,” said Keene. “We have studies from Malroz Engineering, peer reviewed, and comments from the conservation authority. We'd be pleased to provide more information if we knew what was required,” said Keene.

Keene added that this proposal keeps to the promise of doing a separate hydro geological study for each lot as the project gets going to satisfy concerns over water supply, a measure that is beyond what is required.

“If we went for the 13 lots would that not set a precedent for the rest of the proposal,” said Councilor John McDougall.

“We are only voting on this proposal,” said Mayor Vandewal. “If they come back as they said they plan to do, they start all over again.”

Council is now set to decide on the proposed subdivision at their next regular meeting on September 1.

Peer review of Johnson's Point subdivision Environmental Impact Study

Mike Keene was back before Council later in the meeting, this time to respond to a peer review to an environmental impact study commissioned by another of his clients, who are proposing a subdivision on Johnson's Point, on Long Bay at Loughborough Lake.

The peer review, by Mcintosh Perry, challenged assertions in the assessment done for the project by Ecological Services.

“It is the opinion of McIntosh Perry that the Environmental Impact Assessment report does not sufficiently demonstrate there will be no negative impacts on the natural features or their ecological functions on the subject property as per the requirements of the Provincial Policy Statement,” concluded Jeffrey King, the biologist who conducted the review for McIntosh Perry.

Specific species at risk that are of concern to McIntosh Perry on lands within or adjacent to the proposed subdivision include Blandings Turtles, which were seen on site by King, as well as snapping turtles and grey ratsnakes. Habitat for other species may also be affected, including the Eastern Whip-poor-will, Cerulean Warbler, and Least Bittern.

“It is strongly recommended that the MNR (Ministry of Natural Resources) be consulted prior to any further site alteration to: ensure proposed development does not contravene the Endangered Species Act and its associated regulations; and obtain any necessary approvals or permits required to undertake activities that have the potential for adverse impacts to species at risk and their habitat,” said King.

In his submission, Keen urged Council to wait for the response that he will send to Council in the near future, which, he said, will “address every point that is made in the McIntosh Perry review to the satisfaction of the Cataraqui Conservation Authority and the township ... I am confident that when you see our response you will be in a position to approve the draft development.”

Council did not wait to hear back. They approved a motion by Ross Sutherland to refer the matter immediately to the Ontario MNR. The ministry will be asked to comment on the impact on the provincially significant wetland in the vicinity, as well as the viability of up to a dozen species at risk that may have habitat in the vicinity of Johnson's Point.

Winter maintenance extended to a number of partially maintained roads

Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth said his staff have prepared a comprehensive list of partially maintained public roads in the township and will present a criteria later on for extending winter snow removal to those roads that satisfy specific criteria in terms of condition and use.

In the interim, he said the township could approve extending winter maintenance immediately to those partially maintained roads that include or lead to properties that are now occupied by full time residents.

The cost of the increased maintenance will be $80,000 per year.

Council approved Segworth's proposal, and those who are affected will be contacted by the township so they know not to enter into private maintenance contracts for the coming winter.

Tenders approved

A tender for the reconstruction of the Village of Bellrock was awarded to the lowest bidder, Crains' Construction, at a cost of $1.289 million. The tender for the Massassauga Road culvert was awarded to Arnott Brothers Construction, at a cost of just over $241,000.

Council will meet in special session next Tuesday to talk about the draft Official Plan.

Mayor Higgins encouraging early talk with solar company

Mayor Higgins has been in discussion with U.S solar company SunEdison regarding the possibility of installing solar farms in North Frontenac.

“They are very interested in coming to North Frontenac,” Higgins said.

A representative from SunEdison explained to the Mayor that there is another Large Renewable Procurement (LRP) that will be up for grabs next year and the company is interested in visiting the area to do an assessment of the feasibility of such a project in North Frontenac.

Council voted to invite the representative from the solar company to make a presentation to council at the next meeting.

“I'm interested because it's another alternative green energy [to] the wind turbines,” Higgins said. “And it would show that we're not against them, at the provincial level, and that we may accept other options for green energy.”

“We have lots of Crown Land here that we can hide these things on...it wouldn't be an impact to lakes people,” the mayor said, “and it would allow us to get a vibrancy fund.”

The mayor hoped that they could do a lot of the groundwork before the LRP even comes out so that they are prepared for next year's bid.

Recently, SunEdison decided to pull two of their three proposed solar farms out of South Frontenac due to local resistance and a concern by residents that there would be stray voltage from the lines.

Councilor Inglis was concerned about forests being cleared for solar farms. “I'd have problems accepting it,” Inglis said. “I'd find it more acceptable to put it on land that was formerly cleared or land that is not suitable for agriculture.”

Higgins pointed out that they could possibly be installed on old decommissioned landfill sites or gravel pits.

Amendment to the Official Plan

A by-law was passed during Monday's council meeting to amend North Frontenac's Official Plan (OP) incorporating updates to their Community Improvement Plan (CIP).

Peter Young and Anne Marie Young, from the offices of the County of Frontenac, made a presentation at the meeting on Monday regarding the Official Plan Amendment (OPA) and what is required by the Township to activate their CIP.

If the amendment is approved by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) then Council can implement their CIP. This proposed amendment adds an incentive program offering grants to new and existing local businesses for facade improvement, commercial space funding, accessibility enhancements for people with disabilities, and to help subsidize municipal fees such as building permits and site plan approvals.

Up to $2500 is available per business, per property, for facade improvements, commercial space funding, and accessibility upgrades, and an extra $2000 is available in funding to help minimize municipal fees.

North Frontenac currently has $70,000 in their budget for this program, once it's approved by the MMAH. Any remaining monies, if not used by local businesses, could be used by the township to make improvements as well.

There will be an opportunity for the public to review the plan and consult council before the CIP is implemented.

150th Anniversary Celebration set for County of Frontenac

The 150th anniversary celebration for the County of Frontenac is set for August 28-30th 2015 at the Harrowsmith Centennial Park and will feature live music, BBQ, midway rides, fireworks, and a group of actors performing historical re-enactments involving an antique cannon.

The opening ceremony begins at 5:30pm on Friday night and the first day of the celebration will conclude that night with a large fireworks display. Saturday morning begins with a parade at 10am followed by a plowing match on a neighbouring field. As well, there will be a play area for kids featuring train rides, bouncy castles, and mini-putt.

After The News, Abby Stewart, and Rob Carnegie are just a few of the musical acts set to play throughout the festival.

There will be a beer tent on site for the entire weekend as well as a canteen and BBQ and the County expects to see upwards of 10,000 people over the course of the festival weekend.

The main event is a heritage costume ball which is happening on the Saturday night at the Golden Links Hall from 9pm-1am. Attendees are encouraged to arrive in period costume (1850-present) and the band Soul Survivors will be providing live music. There will also be a late night buffet and prizes. Tickets are available for $20. For more information you can visit www.frontenaccounty.ca

Members of South Frontenac Council have been asked about their stance on it for years. There have been meetings between neighbours, presentations at Council meeting, whisperings about too much water on the site, drainage, loss of rural character and more.

All of this was before a parcel on a long, narrow swath of land just west of Road 38 between Petworth and Boyce Road had ever come to Council as a proposed 47-lot subdivision.

That ended on Tuesday night, July 7, when Mike Keene of Fotenn Planning brought the subdivision proposal before a public meeting at South Frontenac Council, one of the formal steps in the process that will eventually lead to Frontenac County, which approves subdivision agreements, and perhaps a date with the Ontario Municipal Board at the end of the day.

The proposal that Keene described features two rows of lots running along the property with a road running through the middle. There are 47 0.8 hectare (2 acre) lots, each with 46 metre (150 foot) road frontages. The 46 metres is significant because minimum road frontage in the township for new lots is 76 metres (250 feet)

Keene said that the 150 foot frontages are “consistent with other subdivisions in the township and are supported by the studies that have been done.”

He also talked about some extensive hydrogeological studies that have been done at the site, and said that even as the lots are developed, further studies can be done as wells are dug at each lot to ensure there is no draw down of wells in the vicinity.

When he presented his own planning report in relation to the plan of subdivision, South Frontenac Township Planner Lindsay Mills said he did not think the 150 foot frontages were appropriate, but said “something under 250 foot frontages are supportable” although he did not say what that number should be.

A string of neighbouring property owners, seven in total, made 10-minute presentations to Council in opposition to the subdivision in front of an overflow, sign-carrying crowd at the council chambers in Sydenham. Opponents said that test wells that have been dug at the site have affected their own water supply, both in terms of quality and quantity. A farmer who lives near the site said his ability to farm will be affected by the subdivision, saying “people who live in urban subdivisions are not friends of farmers”.

Others attacked the location for being located, for the most part, outside of the designated Hartington hamlet, where they said subdivisions should be confined. Still others attacked the project on the grounds that it did not live up to the principles of sustainable development.

A number of councilors joined in, calling the development ill-conceived, inconsistent with the rural nature of the area, and more. Councilor Ross Sutherland even attacked the shape of the road. “If it was serpentine instead of straight it would fit in better with the surrounding landscape,” he said.

Other concerns were raised about increases to traffic flow on Road 38. Later, members of the audience asked further questions about drainage and more.

In the end, a motion to forward the planning report by Lindsay Mills, which outlined the project but did not make a recommendation as to whether it should be adopted, in addition to all the comments and presentations by council and the public, was not fowarded to Frontenac County for consideration by the planning department, which has the authority to approve plans of subdivision.

Instead, it will come back to South Frontenac Council for further consideration.

It is a bit unclear how long the township has to go over the proposal before it will have been longer than is prescribed, leaving the applicant with grounds to appeal the slow progress to the Ontario Municipal Board.

Solar approval – A 500 kw micro-fit project at 300 Hinchinbrooke Road received a motion of support from council, one of many from the township that will go forward to a competitive bidding process under the Independent Energy Systems Operator (IESO) for consideration this fall.

Council also approved a framework for “facility agreement requirements” for large scale solar projects. A proposal to provide a motion of support to Sun Edison if and when a community vibrancy agreement (in the form of an annual payment to the township) is signed, was deferred until the August meeting. The main reason noted was that Council had already been in session for over four hours at that point and were too tired to make a good decision.

Solar project proposals abundant in the Frontenacs

Rob Hitchcock, a representative from Abundant Solar Energy Incorporated (ASEI), made a presentation to North Frontenac Council on June 29. Two sites were proposed for solar farms in North Frontenac that would be built under the FIT program being offered by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).

ASEI is a 100% Canadian-owned company with its headquarters in York, Ontario. They finance and engineer solar farms, and contract out the construction stage.

“Every site that we develop...we use as much local material and labour,” Hitchcock said, referring mostly to excavation, electricians, and general labour.

Hitchcock explained how previous solar farms, such as the ones near Kingston and Westport, were installed when renewable energy building regulations in Ontario were much more lax. Times have changed, and the IESO now requires that companies awarded contracts under the FIT program follow strict guidelines as far as visibility from dwellings and points of interest, as well as incorporate green space setbacks into their plans.

Unlike certain recently proposed wind turbine projects, electricity that is generated by these panels is fed back into the local grid, rather than being exported outside the province.

ASEI is bankrolled by a solar flow-through fund (SFF) which offers investors a tax break on money invested into alternative energy, using a similar model to tax breaks passed on to investors in the oil and mineral sectors.

In this North Frontenac proposal, ASEI is planning two separate panel arrays on neighbouring lots, both located along the Mississippi River, near Farm Lake, which are accessed via Gutheinz Road. Hitchcock explained that they typically overbuild their systems by 20% to make sure they are always generating the maximum electricity they are allowed to feed into the grid, within the regulations of the FIT program.

“We're very involved in the communities we do business in,” Hitchcock explained. “The term of the contract is twenty years.”

Mayor Ron Higgins confirmed with Hitchcock that the ASEI would be responsible for repairing potential damage to public roads as a result of their activities.

The procurement process for solar projects, through this IESO program, works similarly to the wind turbine application process that North Frontenac has recently faced. ASEI are awarded points for having the municipality on board with the project. Their bid will become more competitive with a letter of support from the township.

Dam leaks!

Mayor Higgins and Councilor Gerry Martin recently took members of the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) on a tour of some of the lakes and rivers in North Frontenac that are connected with the Mississippi River water system.

Martin reported to council that the Kashawakamak Lake Dam is leaking and that the MVCA will be fixing the dam by pumping liquid cement “into the surrounding hillside” to hopefully stop the flow.

“It was a pretty productive day,” Martin said. “North Frontenac Township was really highlighted...” He said that he has “got a lot of comments back...congratulating us on what we're doing up here and our countryside.”

The Kashawakamak Lake Dam is at the east end of the lake and helps regulate the water flow of the Mississippi River.

Linda's Loop

Linda and Bruce Sterling recently sent a letter to North Frontenac Council asking for help organizing maintenance on Linda's Loop, a 20-km trail network built by the Sterlings many years ago, that winds along Crotch Lake.

Historically, the trail has been maintained by the Sterlings and other local volunteers but they've found it difficult keeping the trail in good shape these last few years. They are requesting help in clearing brush, marking trails, and some chainsaw work and are hoping that the Township can help co-ordinate the maintenance. In October 2014 they built a 40 foot bridge on the trail with help from the Rideau Trails Association.

“The township has much to gain by maintaining these trails and expanding them,” the Sterlings said, and suggested that North Frontenac could gain revenue as well as boost local business.

“A lot of people use it...it's an advantage to the whole area,” a lady in the audience said. “She [Linda] has maps. They've done a lot of work on it and it would be a shame to let it go back. I hope they'll get some support from Council.”

Mayor Higgins responded by saying that the idea will be given to the economic development task force to look into.