North Frontenac Council – Dec. 9, 2010

Jeff Green | Dec 16, 2010

Photo right: Newly appointed members of North Frontenac Council

The newly elected mayor, Bud Clayton, make a short speech at the outset. He pointed out that the township derives its legal standing from the Province of Ontario and as such is subject to the many Acts that have and will continue to be enacted by the province.

“We are required to act in accordance with all of these acts and that is what we will do,” he said. “Transparency, transparency, transparency, will be our watchword. We need to do all of our work out in the open.”

The first order of business that council dealt with was the appointment of a deputy mayor for four years.

There were two nominees, Councilors Fred Perry and Betty Hunter. There were no speeches, and a vote was taken. With the support of four members of council: Mayor Clayton, Councilors Wayne Good and Gerry Martin, and himself, Fred Perry was chosen.

Betty received three votes, her own and those of Councilors Lonnie Watkins and John Inglis.

The next business was the appointment of a member to sit on Frontenac County Council, and for that position John Inglis was acclaimed as he was the only nominee.

EXCAVATOR REJECTED – Public Works Manager John Ibey expressed his best wishes to the new council, and then proposed that some of the expected surplus in the winter maintenance be diverted to pay for an upgraded excavator.

The township owns an excavator, which he says is too small to do some of the work that is required. When it was purchased several years ago the township could not float a larger one, but a new float truck has been purchased in the interim. Last summer the township rented a larger excavator for three months, at a cost of $21,000. The supplier has offered to use that money as part of a rent-to-own arrangement, and if the township trades in their existing excavator, they can keep the larger one, with a one-year warranty, for another $21,000.

“There is $85,000 left in the winter maintenance budget as of the end of November, so I propose to pay for the excavator with some of the surplus that should still be in that budget at the end of 2010,” Ibey said.

Ibey said that both machines are the same age, and the larger one is in better shape, although it has been used more. It has 3,700 hours of operation as opposed to 2200 for the one the township already owns.

“The machine is 20,000 pounds heavier and has a five-foot longer reach, which is handy for a lot of the projects we do,” Ibey said.

A couple of members of council said they thought it would be a good investment.

Lonnie Watkins differed, saying, “I think the machine that we’ve got is fine for what we need. I don’t think we need to upgrade.”

Councilor Betty Hunter agreed. “You’re looking at a machine that's got more hours on it. I think, with the new council, we should be looking at what we are doing in the future before getting ahead of ourselves,” she said.

When the vote was taken, Councilors Gerry Martin, Wayne Good and Deputy Mayor Fred Perry supported the proposal, and Councillors Lonnie Watkins, Betty Hunter and John Inglis voted against it. Mayor Clayton then informed the clerk that the proposal had been defeated, effectively casting the deciding vote against it.

What’s in a name?

The township received a survey from the Ministry of Natural Resources regarding the naming of two islands on Pine Lake. The ministry proposes to name the islands, which are located near the Pine Lake boat launch, Shingwak Island and Miskwa island.

Shingwak and Miskwa are the names of two lakes elsewhere; Shingwak Lake is located near Sioux Narrows in Western Ontario, and Miskwa Lake is in Manitoba.

Councilor Gerry Martin said he had talked to some of the elderly people in the vicinity of the islands, and found that they are known locally as Priest Island and Millie’s island. According to Martin, Priest Island is the location of a retreat for Catholic priests, and Milly’s island is so called after Milly Barquo.

“Have we talked to any of the local Algonquin communities?” asked Councilor Wayne Good.

“The names were sent by the Ministry,” said Clerk Brenda Defosse. “I don’t think they came from anyone locally,”

Council decided to tell the ministry they would prefer the names that have been used locally for years.

Monday meetings in 2011 – Mayor Clayton said he wants to change the meeting dates for council to Mondays from Thursdays. “It’s a matter of transparency” he said. “If we meet on Mondays the reports will be in the Frontenac News that same week. As it is, the reports only go in a week later.”

The change will not take place until March at the earliest.

Portfolio assignments – The following areas of responsibility were doled out – Councilor Martin, communications and liaison with the Committee of Adjustment; Councilor Hunter, Economic Development and Social Services; Councilor Good, Emergency Preparedness and special projects; Councilor Inglis, Emergency Preparedness and Environment; Councillor Watkins, Youth and Recreation and representative to the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority; Deputy Mayor Perry, Emergency Preparedness and Health.

Mayor Clayton will chair the Personnel and Audit Committee, which will also include Gerry Martin, John Inglis, and Fred Perry.

Construction up $1 million – As of November 30, permits for $7.6 million in construction had been taken out this year, up from $6.6 million on the same date in 2009.