Township Councillors likely to join SFCS board

Craig Bakay | Mar 20, 2019

South Frontenac Council will likely have two of its members sit on the board of Southern Frontenac Community Services following a one-hour meeting between the two bodies that preceded the regular Council meeting Tuesday night in Sydenham.

During the regular Council meeting, Coun. Norm Roberts gave a notice of motion to make the recommendation for councilors to join the SFCS board part of Council’s next regular meeting.

“This meeting (before Council) was more about having the dialogue as to how Council and SFCS can come together more to meet the needs of South Frontenac citizens,” said Mayor Ron Vandewal.

“We’d both like to determine what services are needed and how best to provide them,” said Dep. Mayor Ron Sleeth. “I’d also like to point out that they were only asking for input.

“They didn’t ask us for any money.”

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Council amended the Township Trailer Licence bylaw, as it pertains to single trailers on private lots, increasing the fee $35 per month from $35 effective Jan. 1, 2020. The bylaw changes also further extend the compliance date for prohibition of the use licensed trailers on private residential property to Dec. 31, 2023.

Bylaw services will inspect each property to ensure that the trailer currently on site matches the one licensed at the time the bylaw was established (and) continue to enforce the removal of unlicensed trailers, should complaints be filed about new trailers or if they are discovered during Bylaw Service’s inspection.

“I wanted to enquire from the CAO if there is any assurance that the number of trailers is dropping,” said Coun. Alan Revill. “I know the number of licensed trailers is dropping.”

“When reported, we do act on it but I can’t tell you how many appear under the cover of darkness,” said CAO Wayne Orr. “We don’t go down every lane seeking them out.”

Revill wondered if raising fees might act as a deterrent to people actually licensing trailers.

“One of the reasons for raising costs is to be able to enforce the bylaw proactively,” said Mayor Ron Vandewal.

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Council voted to support a request from South Stormont Township asking the provincial government to heed its concerns about the potential reduction and/or loss of Ontario Municipal Partnership Funding.

“I think this is still worth supporting, although we heard from the government that we’d be getting $40,000 more than we got last year,” said Mayor Ron Vandewal. “And that they will be consulting with us in the future.”

“By ‘consulting,’ does that mean ‘telling’?” said Coun. Doug Morey.