South Frontenac celebrates new municipal facilities

Wilma Kenny | Oct 04, 2012

Photo: Jamie Brash, SF Roads Area Superintendent of Solid Waste and Facilities, beside prototype of rack to hold recycling bins at the end of private lanes.

Local residents and members of council turned up at the Keeley Road Public Works site on Sept. 29 to see South Frontenac’s new and upgraded roadwork and recycling facilities. Township staff members were on hand to offer tours, collect donations to the local food bank, and host a fundraising BBQ for the United Way. They were easy to spot in their new (Omaha?) orange t-shirts with township logos.

Seen up close, the new sand barn is enormous - big enough to accommodate delivery, storage and loading operations all within the building, preventing spillage and waste in the yard. New equipment combines the salt and sand as it is being loaded into the barn, which in turn will facilitate loading the sand trucks. Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth noted that by adding magnesium chloride to the salt and sand mix, he hopes to lessen the amount of salt needed by 15%. Less salt will bounce off when it’s applied, and the new mix will stay effective longer on the road. All of this lowers the amount of salt that eventually reaches the water table, without compromising the safety of the winter roads.

Across Keeley Road is the already well-used Household Hazardous Waste depot, which also collects and bales bale-wrap and boat-wrap, and accepts electronic waste. Somewhat unusually, this site is located on a reclaimed dumpsite at the edge of a swamp. Segsworth described long negotiations with the Conservation Authority, the Ministry of the Environment, and Ducks Unlimited, which resulted in the township ceding some land to a wetland reclamation project, and cleaning up and building a thick berm around what was left. This is now a clean, attractive location where hazardous waste can be safely accepted by trained professionals who prepare it for shipping out to various recycling facilities.

Total cost of the projects was $1,950,252 and was entirely funded through the township’s Federal Gas Tax Fund allocation. A message from MP Scott Reid, read by Mayor Davison, said, in part: “Modern municipal facilities that provide better services, reduce operating expenses and protect the environment are key to healthy, prosperous communities.”

The big machines used for roadwork (especially their horns), and two fire trucks were popular features with the children, who scampered up and down their access steps. Also on display was a prototype of a rack to hold recycling bins at the ends of private lanes. The township-built garbage bins for lane ends have been in such high demand that none was presently available for viewing.

Mayor Davison congratulated Segsworth and the township staff for a big job very well done.