South Frontenac decides not to oppose Education Development Charge for French school in Kingston

Jeff Green | Sep 08, 2021

(Editors note - This article has been altered from the version in the print edition for Thursday, September 9 - Volume 21, no.36 This version includes additional information stemming from the South Frontenac Council meeting on September 7, 2021)

Back in May of this year, the French Language School Board of Eastern Ontario (Conseils des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario - CEPEO) informed South Frontenac Township, as well as township councils in southern Lennox and Addington County, that the CEPEO was proposing that the Ontario Ministry of Education impose a development levy charge on new construction in South Frontenac, Loyalist, and Stone Mills Townships and the Town of Greater Napanee.

The proposed levy, to be collected when building permits are taken out, is $300 in 2021. From 2022 to 2026, new home builders will pay $365 under the proposal.

The money is being levied by the board in order to help fund the construction of a new French language school in Kingston.

The council of the county of Lennox and Addington passed a motion on July 28 asking the Minister of Education, Steve Lecce, to “rescind approval of the proposed Development Charges as they drastically overreach the principle of local growth paying for local services”

The motion also asked the Ministry to review the legislation that allows such fees to be levied.

The Lennox and Addington motion said the CEPEO provides no services in L&A and that only a limited number of L&A residents make use of the services of the board.

South Frontenac Councilor, Alan Revill, brought forward a notice of motion for consideration at South Frontenac Council this week, asking that Council endorse the position taken by L&A Council and communicate that endorsement to the Minister of Education.

According to a South Frontenac Township staff report regarding the charge, which was received by Council in May, “there are currently 125 students from South Frontenac currently on a waiting list (12) or attending JK-Grade 12 programs (104) with the CEPEO school board.”

When the matter was raised at Council, Councillor Revill said that he was concerned that other school boards might take advantage of this taxing power, forcing people to pay fees for something they will not benefit from, and that is why he brought forward the motion.

Mayor Vandewal said that he “struggles with the logic behind this, because we already charge development fees for services that we offer that people may or may not benefit from, so I don’t see this as anything really different. So long as the money is being used for its intended purchase, I think it is alright”.

The motion was defeated.

SFCSC requests $750,000 from South Frontenac

As part of a fundraising project to finance a $1.5 million addition to the Grace Centre, Southern Frontenac Community Services is asking South Frontenac Township for “a $750,000 investment.”

SFCS expects to be able to secure $100,000 from Ontario Health, along with allocating $100,000 from its own capital reserve fund and $50,000 from the Food Bank. The remaining $500,000 will come from a capital campaign the agency will undertake.

The proposed new building expansion will add 3360 square feet of space, on two floors. It will be used as the new home for the South Frontenac Food Bank, as well as professional work areas for SFCSC staff. It will include an accessible washroom and a confidential meeting room, among other features.

Currently the Food Bank, and offices for some agency staff, are located in former portable classrooms.

In a presentation to Council earlier this summer, SFCSC Executive Director, David Townsend, discussed the role his agency now plays, and will continue to play in the future, in meeting the diverse needs of an aging population in South Frontenac.

The new addition to the Grace Centre is intended to address inadequacies in the existing building and the projected increase in the population of seniors in the township.

The population of seniors aged 75 and over is projected to grow by 137% in South Frontenac between 2016 and 2036 according to a Watson and Associates demographics report that the township commissioned after the census was completed in 2016

When the request came to council, Councillor Ross Sutherland proposed a motion that the matter be sent to township staff for a report back in early October, with information about the budgetary and other implications so Council can determine next steps.

Sutherland’s motion was approved by Council