North Frontenac Mayor rejects funding for Pine Meadow

Jeff Green | Nov 18, 2015

Funding request is defeated in a 4-3 vote

(Update on this story. Tom Dewey of Central Frontenac has decided not to support the motion. Higgins still against it. The motion being voted on is for $105,750 over 10 years. There are only 6 members of council in attendance. 5 have indicated how they will vote. 3 for and 2 against. The final vote comes down to Natalie Nossal from Frontenac Islands. Recorded vote nossal votes no, motion defeated in a 4-3 vote.)

North Frontenac mayor, Ron Higgins, said he will be voting against a proposed grant of $125,000 for Pine Meadow Nursing Home when it comes up this week at Frontenac County Council.

The home, which is located in Northbrook, has asked the County for money in the past to help with capital projects. They asked for support on a yearly basis in the run-up to the rebuild of Pine Meadow, which was completed last year, but Councilors representing South Frontenac and Frontenac Islands have always voted as a bloc against the funding, ensuring that it has never happened.

When the matter came up last week at a meeting of the Committee of the Whole of Frontenac County Council, this time to pay for replacement bay windows in the older part of Pine Meadow, Councillor John McDougall from South Frontenac indicated he would be supporting the motion. This would give the elusive fifth vote needed for a majority in the nine-vote council (there are eight members of Frontenac County Council, and Ron Vandewal has two votes by virtue of being Mayor of South Frontenac).

But then Ron Higgins spoke.

“I struggled with this myself, but I can't see that the County of Frontenac should start supporting other homes. Based on the budget restrictions that we have in pace, I can't vote in favour, just from the fiscal responsibility perspective. I know I will hear about this,” he said.

Deputy Warden Frances Smith and Councillor Tom Dewey, both from Central Frontenac, as well as North Frontenac Councillor John Inglis, along with John McDougall, all indicated they would support the request. Ron Vandewal said that since he was already set to vote against the proposed 2016 Frontenac County budget because it includes a 2.5% increase, “so I can't support this because it will add even more to the budget.”

Warden Dennis Doyle and Councillor Natalie Nossal, both from Frontenac Islands, did not speak to the motion.

Frontenac County is the owner and operator of the Fairmount Home, which is located adjacent to the county offices. As a municipally run home, the 128-bed Fairmount Home receives $2.7 million from municipal taxation in addition to provincial funding and resident fees towards its $12 million annual operating budget. City of Kingston ratepayers contribute about $1.8 million and Frontenac County ratepayers will pay $908,920 towards the home's operating expenses in 2016.

By contrast, the 60-bed Pine Meadow Home receives only the provincial funding and resident fees with which to finance its operations.

Betty Hunter, a member of the Pine Meadow Management Committee, made the pitch for funding at the regular monthly meeting of Frontenac County Council on October 21.

“We are looking for only capital support,” she said at the time, “not operating funding, but this is a matter of some urgency for us. Pine Meadow is not located within Frontenac County, but neither is Fairmount Home. Pine Meadow serves a high percentage of residents from North and Central Frontenac.”

Pine Meadow received $250,000 over 10 years from the County of Lennox and Addington towards its rebuild and expansion project, which was completed a year ago. Like Frontenac County, Lennox and Addington also operates its own municipal home in Napanee, the John Parrot Centre.

In his report regarding the application for funding, Frontenac County Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Pender expressed the concern that supporting “a long-term care facility outside of our geographic boundaries will open the door for other facilities in neighbouring communities that routinely receive County of Frontenac residents.”

He also said that he was concerned about the “ability to pay” argument, which could surface in contract negotiations with unions and arbitrators representing Fairmount Home staff.

“If we can afford to financially support long-term care outside of our jurisdiction, the argument that we can only keep salary increases to the cost of living for our own employees would be weakened,” he said.

Pender also told the Committee of the Whole last week that he had requested financial statements from Pine Meadow after receiving the funding request in October, but had just received them and had not had a chance to look at them.

Ron Higgins then proposed a deferral of the motion to support Pine Meadow pending a review of the finances, and the matter was deferred until a meeting this week,

Since last week's meeting, the funding request has been clarified by Pine Meadow. The request is now $105,750. Pine Meadow administrator Margaret Palimaka said the Home would be happy to receive the money over five or even ten years.

“We would be happy to receive anything,” she said.

The proposal is included in the agenda for the county meeting that is set for Wednesday, November 18.

(This story will be updated at Frontenacnews.ca to reflect the results of that meeting)

A delegation from Frontenac County, including Pender, Fairmount Home interim administrator Steve Silver, and North Frontenac councilor, John Inglis, paid a visit to Pine Meadow in late October to meet with staff and administration.