Frontenac County wants to know what residents think

Jeff Green | Oct 13, 2016

As part of its branding exercise earlier this year, Frontenac County received word from the company it had hired to lead the exercise that there was a problem.

Frontenac County residents did not know what the county did. In many cases they did not know the county even existed though they were living within its boundaries.

“People say they live north of Kingston; in Sydenham; near Sharbot Lake; west of Perth; but they don't say they live in Frontenac County,” said Economic Development Officer Anne Marie Young.

As the Frontenac County brand was developed and implemented, the first goal has been to use the brand to help develop a sense of place among county residents.

At the same time, Frontenac County staff and council have been talking about the effectiveness of county services and have decided to survey residents.

Kathryn Wood of Natural Capital Resources, based in Sydenham, was contracted to develop and implement a resident survey to find out what residents think of how well the county is doing at delivering services and what kinds of initiatives people would like to see the county enter into.

The survey is also a gauge of how well residents understand what the county does

“One of the things we want to do with this survey is to establish a baseline of understanding. If it is repeated in the future we will see how this understanding has changed,” said Wood, when contacted by phone early this week.

In a release last week, the county said that the survey is intended to help determine the direction the county will take in designing and implementing operations over the next five years.

“The survey is designed to gather views on the programs, services and operations of Frontenac County. Responses will help the county in setting priorities and reviewing its five-year business plans,” the release said.

"We want to know how satisfied the residents of the county are with the programs and services we currently offer and what other issues the county should work on in the future," said Warden Frances Smith.

The survey includes a list of services that the county is responsible for, and asks for input on their effectiveness. These include some services it delivers, such as the Frontenac Paramedic Services and Fairmount Home. It includes services that the county is responsible for but are delivered by others. These include social service and housing programs that are delivered by the City of Kingston. Other services, such as the Kingston Frontenac Public Library and Health Units are overseen by boards that include representatives appointed by Frontenac County Council. The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation is also listed as well because it is jointly owned by all municipalities in Ontario.

The survey asks residents what kinds of new initiatives the county may get involved in. Suggestions include transportation; business supports including support for tourism; combating homelessness; helping people “age at home” and many others.

It also asks what role, if any, the county should play in developing shared services between and with the four member municipalities (North, Central, and South Frontenac and Frontenac Islands)

The survey is available online at frontenaccounty.ca by navigating to the News item on the site (Frontenac County Issues Community Engagement Survey). It is also available in a paper version at all township offices (Marysville, Sydenham, Sharbot Lake, and Plevna).

The survey takes about 10 minutes or less to complete. But act fast and get it done; the survey is only running for another eight days. It closes on October 21.