South Frontenac Committee of the Whole - January 18/22

Wilma Kenny | Jan 26, 2022

Review of Proposed 2022 Capital Budget

Note: Capital items relate to infrastructure or assets owned by the Township along with other initiatives, such as studies, which help support future capital investment decisions.

This included the close-out of the 2021 Private Lane Upgrade Assistance Program. In 2021, Council issued grant subsidies totaling $91,114.44 to support private lane upgrades benefitting 27 different private lane associations. The purpose of this popular incentive program was to offer financial support to lane associations to carry out lane improvements that offered direct benefit to emergency service vehicles. Two other applicants had been unable to complete their projects, which resulted in a surplus of $16,066 to be transferred to the 2022 program.

Councillor Sutherland asked what had happened to the culvert replacement plan for Perth Road at Buck Lake: Troy Dunlop, Manager of Technical Services and Infrastructure, replied that re-inspection of the site shows that the pipe crossing has five years’ life left, but the north head wall of the culvert needs immediate repair; a report and action is forthcoming.

Mayor Vandewal noted that in relation to Council chambers improvements, he preferred that upgrading of some of the technical equipment should take precedence over furniture replacement.

Signage

Councillor Revill asked about the $60,000 set aside for Gateway signage: CAO Carbone replied that this was for signs at the main entry points to the Township which would be more on a scale with the Kingston signage and include the new township branding.

These, he added, were not a necessity: the existing signs could have a “skin” added: the choice would be up to Council.

Vandewal suggested that “if a sign needs replacement, put up a new one; otherwise put a skin over what’s there.”

Sutherland wanted to see more electronic signs like the Verona one.

Vandewal replied “The Verona sign’s terrible: it’s effective when it works, but it doesn’t always work.”

McDougall commented that the Verona sign required someone with expertise to run it, and recommended that a portable sign would offer more flexibility for events throughout the township, particularly in summer.

Louise Fragnito agreed the township needed more portable electronic signs.

Issue of Housing for Disabled Adults

A Project Design and Management Consultant for Seniors and affordable Housing is budgeted for $175,000.

Sutherland said that he was not opposed to the study, but added that he felt some consideration for housing for disabled adults needed to be added to the discussion: “after all, we do have the land.”

CAO Carbone replied that the master plan, which is coming to Council in February, “has not contemplated that.”

He said that the flood plain limits the amount of useable land in Verona, adding that the township was looking at several phases of development, and these special needs would have to be studied, and might not (currently) be shown in the master plan;

“We have only just been informed of this (need.)”

Revill agreed that there might be a demand for housing for people with disabilities and the support services that would need to accompany them. Mayor Vandewal said “This municipality currently does not have the capacity or resources to tackle this sort of housing right now.

Sutherland said, “I don’t know how we want to approach this but it seems a good time to work it into the conversation.”

Carbone replied: “The master plan is near completion and to date that issue has not been part of the discussion.” He added that the Township had access to other land.

Vandewal said that most of the Township’s social planning and social service funding was managed by the City of Kingston, which had greater capacity for it: “I would be shocked if the township had the capacity for (providing housing for special needs),” he said.

Roads

Sutherland said that Bedford Road was close to failure.

From a township staff perspective, Technical Services Manager Dunlop agreed that it is “one of our most distressed roads, and requires substantial reconstruction. First, it needs a design study/plan, so it will not be rebuilt this year.”

McDougall mentioned that Bellrock Road was missing a bike lane, and Leonard added Desert Lake Road needed one too, and Verona Sand Road was in bad shape.

Dunlop said these roads were ‘all on our radar’, adding that a full needs study including geo-tech and utility work is lined up: one question is whether to spend money retrofitting old roads that are nearing the need for complete rebuilding, or retrofit the newer roads, which are anticipated to last longer.

Mayor Vandewal said that Notre Dame St in Harrowsmith badly needed a sidewalk, as many walked up it to the park for their mail. Dunlop added that it also needed improved drainage and better lighting. Morey asked for marked parking spaces along road 38 through Verona, and Leonard asked for sidewalk renewal along 38 in Hartington (which Vandewal said is planned to be done when the subdivision is being built.)

Mills, Dog Parks and Volleyball

There was no discussion of the $50,000 that was earmarked for each of Petworth and Bellrock mills, but the $40,000 for an off-leash dog park in Gerald Ball Park in Inverary brought a range of opinions

Ruttan: “Has the need been shown? It seems to make no sense in a rural area.”

Revill: “Unless there is good support for it, I am reluctant to see a dog park go forward.”

Sutherland: “It’s illegal to let a dog run loose in the township;  responsible people want a place where they can let their dogs run free.”

Roberts cautioned; “I don’t know where they can put a dog park in Gerald Ball park, for it can’t go near the houses; I’ve heard that the dog park in Harrowsmith has quite a perfume coming off it in July.”

In response to this and the questions from the Mayor, Revill, and Ruttan about the necessity of a volleyball court in Inverary ($25,000), Recreation Manager Tim Laprade said that the need for a dog park had been raised since 2018, and there was no volleyball court in the Township, and two groups have expressed interest in having one. He added that both facilities were recommended by the recreation master plan.

User Fee and Allocation Study

The need for a study of user fees and allocations related to township facilities ($25,000) was questioned. Laprade said the Recreation Master Plan has highlighted a number of inconsistencies and challenges in the current ad hoc methods of levying user fees, and had advised having an impartial specialist recommend a user fee policy and facility allocation process.

He reassured Council that there was no intent to set user fees at cost recovery levels, but fees might, for example, be different for residents and outsiders, children and adults. He assured them that the consultant would be familiar with the Township.

Recreation Master Plan

Roberts and Revill asked to see the final Recreation Master Plan (RMP) before the budget.

Mayor Vandewal said he didn’t agree with piling both the budget and the RMP on Council at the same time.

CAO Carbone agreed with the Mayor, saying that the Recreation Master Plan is a large and important, robust document; it would not be good to debate it at the same time as the budget. Some recreation-related items could be endorsed as held subject to finalization of the RMP, which is slated to be complete and presented to Council by this spring.

Laprade said the draft RMP is 260 pages: it is currently being reviewed, to be returned to the consultant for any revisions, then sent to the recreation committees, then to the public to be sure it has satisfactorily addressed concerns, before being brought to Council for final approval.

The CAO agreed that there was time for this to all be accomplished by this spring.

Roads Dept Thanks

Councillor Roberts led Council’s thanks to the Public Works/ Roads Department for their work in clearing the roads following last week’s snowstorm.