SF Council May 03/22 - Speed Limits, Summer Staffing & Short-term Rentals

Wilma Kenny | May 11, 2022

Bradford and Wolfe Swamp Road Speed Reduction

Council approved a staff recommendation to implement a 60 km/hr speed limit on Bradford Road East (Ellerbeck Road to Wolfe Swamp Road), Bradford Road West (Wolfe Swamp Road to Camden Portland Boundary Road), and Wolfe Swamp Road (Petworth Road to Colebrook Road).

This was in response to a petition from area residents, based on their safety concerns: the road has narrow shoulders and deep ditches.

In order to reduce a speed limit, the township follows the guidelines of the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) which assesses 11 characteristics of a roadway, including roadside hazards, pedestrian and cyclist traffic, numbers of intersections, driveways, average lane width, etc. It was noted that this review was delayed over the winter, in part due to the delay in filling staffing vacancies within the Department. Staff noted that the petition lead had been both patient and understanding throughout the review process.

Mayor Vandewal said, “It looks as though we’re going to have a 60 km limit on all our secondary roads sooner or later; why not just change them all now?” Troy Dunlop, Manager of Technical Services and Infrastructure, said this was because the default speed limit on all unsigned provincial roads is 80k/hr: a full evaluation process would have to be done for each one, requiring staff time (the Bradford/Wolfe swamp evaluations, including background research, correspondence, site meetings, site evaluations, and preparation of final reports took up an estimated total of 25 hours.) The cost of signage would have to be added to that, making a complete change-over far too expensive.

Road Surface Treatment Tenders

Council awarded contract for the 2022 road surface treatment program covering 33.8km of roadways to Miller Paving Ltd in the amount of $814,513.39. This included a request for a budget increase of $143,000 to be funded from the Asset Investment Reserve.

Later in the meeting, Dunlop reported on a tender for micro surfacing Perth Road, awarded to Miller Paving Ltd in the amount of $321,066; well within the project budget. In response to Councillor Sleeth’s query about the life and value of micro surfacing, Dunlop said it lessens exposure to sunlight, restores skid resistance, and slows water seepage. As well, there are strong environmental benefits from using this process: it reduces lifecycle costs by 25 to 45%; greenhouse gases by 44% or more; energy use by 54% or more and raw materials by 35% or more.

In response to comments about the ‘hit and miss’ way shoulders and bike lanes have been added to some roads, Dunlop said that a road needs study consultant has been hired, and the results will help the township develop a roads policy with clear targets and goals, which should in turn lead to cost savings.

Road Sweeping Services

Tender for $34,344 for road sweeping services was awarded to Hughson Fencing and Guiderail, a company that has successfully completed the sweeping programs locally in recent years and is therefore well equipped to carry out the work. Prices have increased approximately 21% over previous years. This increase is largely fuel driven; equipment operates slowly and uses significant diesel to both move and power onboard vacuum systems. New contract stipulations have been added that all sweepers must be 2002 models or newer. While this action does not eliminate emissions it prevents the use of older and less efficient vehicles. (SF villages look forward to the reduction of local sandstorms…)

RTO Grant Application

Council supported the Township’s application to the FedDev Tourism Relief Grant program through RT09 Regional Tourism for the development of a Wayfinding Strategy for the Township, including the fabrication of signage. “Wayfaring” refers to three basic functions: 1) guidance signs that point the way to a destination; 2) identification (ID) signs that identify a place, district, destination, building, etc, and 3) regulatory signs that point out things that visitors may or may not do in a place. If successful, this grant could be up to $85.000.

First Draft New Official Plan

Council has scheduled a special COW meeting for Tuesday May 24, at 6:00, for review of the first draft of the new Official Plan. A public consultation will be held a few weeks later, after Council has had time to study and comment on the document.

Hartington Subdivision

Council accepted a $22,00 cash-in-lieu payment for the Hartington Subdivision, and authorized a pre-servicing agreement with the developer, which will facilitate the construction of the road and stormwater management facility within the Hartington Plan of Subdivision, while the developer finalizes the remaining conditions of draft plan approval.

Council members had a number of questions about the results of monitoring the 13 test wells. Claire Dodds, Director of Development Services suggested that perhaps the hydrogeologist could be invited to come to Council, in order to fully address these. She added that generally, ongoing water monitoring becomes the concern of the homeowner, but ‘possibly something could be made part of the subdivision agreement’.

Summer Program Staffing Problems & Cutbacks

Recreation Manager Tim LePrade reported that South Frontenac Recreation has always prided itself on providing a safe and healthy space for children and youth to participate in exceptional summer programs. The Township typically has offered swim and day camp programming in five locations: 2019 Summer season was the busiest program year to date with increased participation across all programs offered at each site. Then due to Covid restrictions, South Frontenac, like many other municipalities, has been unable to offer summer programs in these past two years. Likewise, certifications for lifesaving and swim teaching were not awarded for two years, resulting in a shortage of qualified instructors.

In spite of heroic recruitment attempts, the Township has been able to hire only two of the ten swim instructors needed. In addition, there is the challenge of having to pivot from offering the longstanding Red Cross Swim program (that is no longer being supported) to the Lifesaving Society program.

There will be no swim programs this summer at McMullen or Gilmour Point beaches, and Sydenham will offer only 6 weeks of swim lessons (instead of 8), which will include only Lifesaving levels 1-6. There wil be no Parks Drop-in Program. Additional camp counsellors will be hired to maintain appropriate staff/participant ratios, and efforts to hire two more instructor/lifeguards will continue. LePrade hopes that some of the current counsellors can be encouraged by training subsidies to obtain lifeguard/swim teacher qualifications, which will help for next year.

Short-Term Rentals Discussion

Deputy Mayor Revill, admitting that the CAO has recommended not addressing the several concerns about short-term rentals in a piecemeal fashion, asked whether one issue could perhaps be addressed this year. He cited targeting noise complaints; Councillor Sleeth agreed, saying that late-night parties and fireworks were the two issues most often drawn to his attention. Mayor Vandewal said that perhaps Council should review their current noise bylaw; Councillor Sutherland agreed, saying that the bylaw is good, but the problem is enforcement: it’s difficult for a bylaw officer to respond quickly enough to arrive (usually at night in cottage country), while the noise is occurring. Clerk Angela Maddocks said she was already receiving noise complaints (three calls that day). She said that calls often came in on Monday about noise that had happened over the weekend, and added “as well, the bylaw enforcement officer is not always treated with respect when they do attend a call.” She offered to ask the Bylaw officer to submit a report. Revill suggested taking the problem to a Police Services Board meeting. Mayor Vandewal cautioned that there needed to be a balance: a vacationing family with several children will inevitably be noisy during the day. Leonard said the bylaw officer had not responded to complaints about a motocross track in the village.

Councillor McDougall suggested that the various Cottager Associations might be of help: on his small lake, having a person who knows the property owner go discuss the problem with them has made a noticeable difference. He noted that this would be a more subtle, less heavy-handed approach than involving the township, and might raise less hostility.

Council’s Summer Meeting Schedule:

Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Tuesday, August 9,2022

Any additional meetings will be at the call of the Mayor.