South Frontenac Council celebrates Duncan Sinclair

Wilma Kenny | Feb 19, 2020

The council meeting began with an acknowledgment of Dr Duncan Sinclair’s appointment to the Order of Canada: Mayor Vandewal presented him with a plaque, and everyone in the room rose, clapping. Dr Sinclair is being honoured for his contributions to the Canadian Health Care system as a teacher, university administrator and advisor, and for his leadership in Ontario Health Care reform.

Dr Sinclair, a long-time resident of Buck Lake, is a familiar figure at community events and served for several years as a member of the Southern Frontenac Community Services’ Board. And yes, his son is Gord Sinclair Jr, the Tragically Hip’s bassist.

In his brief acceptance speech, Sinclair said the appointment had come as “a great surprise: I have a lingering suspicion that some bureaucrat has made an egregious error, and mixed up his files.”

‘Meals Community Champions’ Week Coming Up in March

Joanne Silver, Coordinator of the SFCSC Meals program, said that over 8,000 hot or frozen meals had been served this past year to residents of South Frontenac. The hot meals, now delivered twice a week, are affordable, well-balanced and tasty, and come with the option to also purchase frozen meals. Silver pointed out that there are a lot of intangible benefits too: the meals help lower food costs, are convenient for people who find getting out for food shopping or cooking for one is difficult, and the volunteer drivers are friendly, providing emotional as well as nutritional support.

She invited Council members to come ride with the volunteers March 17 or 19 when they do their rounds. Both Mayor Vandewal and Deputy Mayor Sutherland said they had participated last year, and had enjoyed the experience; ‘The drivers are much more than delivery people.”

Main Street Revitalization Funding

Mark Segsworth, Director of Public Services, showed illustrations of new village entrance signs, street name signs (‘blades’) and benches and planters proposed for the Township. These will be funded by a ‘Main Street Revitalization” grant of over $51,000 from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The Public Services Committee identified the need for updated village entrance signage for certain hamlets and the need for business section directional signage for the village of Sydenham specifically, given that its business core is the only one not located along a major roadway.

Councillor Revill said that North Frontenac had designed its signs to match the County’s signs in shape and colour, and asked whether South Frontenac should do the same. Councillor Ruttan said he was not too keen to align with the County, and CAO Carbone advised caution about aligning with the County before the Township had completed its rebranding exercise. Roberts and Sutherland liked the signs, and there was no objection to approving this use of the funding. Later, when the use of metal benches was questioned on the grounds that they could become uncomfortably hot in the summer, Segsworth said they had been chosen because “they are durable and can withstand skateboards.”

Bylaw Enforcement Contract Extended until April 30

The clerk’s office has said that due to the transitioning of by-law enforcement to the clerks department there is a need to review and identify by-law enforcement needs and implement improved reporting mechanisms prior to simply extending the contract for a longer term or going back out to the marketplace through the Request for Proposal process.

During the 2020 Budget deliberation process, Council heard several references to the need to possibly require more enforcement of by-laws in several areas throughout township departments. Staff are hoping to compile better data in all aspects of Bylaw Enforcement in the coming year so that they can better assess what areas need more resources.

Public Health Offices Withdrawing from Sewage System Inspection

As part of a Ministry of Health decision to modernize and improve Public Health Services, the KFL&A Public health has decided that beginning in 2021, they will withdraw from providing sewage system inspections to municipal governments. In any case, legislative oversight for sewage systems is found in the Ontario Building Code, not the OPHS. They have offered transitional support to local municipalities during the coming year.

Sewage inspection services will be integrated into the township’s building department.