EORN Grant - "a little insulting" Says Vandewal

Jeff Green | Jul 24, 2024

The Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) was established by the Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus to spearhead regional projects in Eastern Ontario. EORN has been successful since its inception 15 years ago, in greatly enhancing cell phone and Internet services in small and larger cities and in rural areas, and in managing three large projects. The most recent project is the cell gap coverage project slated to be completed in 2026.

Two years ago, the Province of Ontario took over management of Internet enhancement projects, leaving EORN with a capacity to manage regional infrastructure projects, but without a ready project to take on.

Since then EORN has branched out from cell and Internet services.

Rural Impact is a recent EORN initiative.

Taking inspiration from the efforts of the Frontenac County Planning and Economic Development Department, EORN is now entering the world of communal servicing, and it has been supported in that effort by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, which provided a $1 million grant that was announced last week.

In the media release accompanying the grant announcement, EORN provided a definition of communal servicing:

“Communal servicing is a way for clusters of homes and businesses to share dedicated and local water and wastewater treatment facilities. Communal services approaches, and technologies, represent an alternative middle ground to the large-lot and well-and-septic approach traditional to rural areas, and to the hugely expensive centralised water and sewer systems approach used in cities.

Communal servicing has several advantages for rural and small municipalities, including lower costs, time savings, and less regulatory barriers for developers as well as new possibilities for economic growth through construction of mixed-use-development of residential, public, and commercial units for residents of small towns and hamlets.”

After 7 years of planning, Frontenac County established a corporation last November. The Frontenac Municipal Service Corporation (FMSC) co-owned by the Frontenac townships, to support the development of housing projects with communal water and sewage systems, in Frontenac County. The test case and first potential client of the corporation is the Verona Housing Complex that South Frontenac is in the midst of developing.

The Rural Impact project that EORN has established is a joint venture with a company called 2B Developments. According to the EORN website it’s goal is “to address infrastructural challenges and other issues which negatively impact housing development in rural communities. This organization has been working closely with Frontenac County to review and study the creation of their municipal corporation and the introduction and implementation of communal systems within their county. Our goal is to accelerate the ability for rural development and growth in an economical, efficient and safe manner while maintaining the fabric of the existing communities with which we work.”

And it now has $1million to advance that effort.

Frontenac County Deputy Warden Ron Vandewal, the Mayor of South Frontenac, commented on the way that money is being divvied up, in his remarks at the summer meeting of Frontenac County Council on July 17.

“I want to give credit where credit is due. Frontenac County spent an enormous amount of resources in setting up the municipal services corporation, setting up communal services, doing all of the legwork, and then EORN comes in and says, we will apply for a grant for you, which they have, and they got a million dollars and they give the county $100,000. To me that’s a little bit insulting. And I have to say it.”

“I have to respond, since I am the vice-chair of EORN right now,” said Frontenac County Warden Frances Smith, in response. “I don’t know a lot of the details just yet, but I can tell you that it is early in the process, and the monies that have come in need to be looked at in the long term to spread out over the 13 municipalities that are part of the Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus. I know this is the beginning, and $100,000 doesn’t seem like a lot, but it is more than we did have when we started this corporation. And as they did the work to get the money, using Frontenac County as the project example, they were able to get it, so I don’t think we want to burn our bridges because there may be lots more money to come.”

Councillor Greenwood-Speers from Frontenac Islands said she had expected all of the $1 million to flow to Frontenac County so she shares Vandewal’s disappointment.

“I see what you are saying,” said North Frontenac Mayor Gerry Lichty, “but the way I look at it, we have $100,000 that we did not have before, and that is money we do not have to raise through grants or taxation, so that in itself, is a good thing.”

For her part, the chair of EORN Board of Directors, is happy to have received the grant

“I am very excited about the partnership with FMSC and the funding that was received,” said Jennifer Murphy, chair of the EORN board of directors. “This will enable us to use municipal service corporations and study how decentralized communal systems can be effectively managed within this framework to enable dense and diverse housing development in rural and small municipalities. We greatly appreciate the support of the EOWC and its members as Stage 1 moves forward.”