South Frontenac Council - Feb. 7/23

Jeff Green | Feb 15, 2023

Anne Prichard, Executive Director of Frontenac Business Services (FBS), appeared for South Frontenac Council at their meeting last week (February 7) to introduce the services offered by FBS to the new council.

She outlined the support that FBS offers to local businesses , including the two major mandated service categories of the agency.

FBS is funded by Fed Dev, which is part of Industry Canada, and is overseen by a volunteer board of directors made up of business owners and other residents of Frontenac County.

The two mandated service categories are business advice and training, and business loans.

“We step in when traditional sources, such as banks, are not available, sometimes to provide bridge financing until other financing can be secured,” she said.

In addition, FBS works on promoting their own brand, “people can't use our services if they don't know that we exist,” said Prichard, and on business promotions for Frontenac businesses, with a focus on food and beverage businesses.

The FBS loan portfolio has grown to $6.5 million, of which about $2 million is regional relief funding that the government provided so it does not pay any interest but still created admin costs for FBS, “but that is a story for another day,” she said.

Accommodations and Food services, retail, and construction represent about 3/4 of the FBS loan portfolio.

FBS launched a food and beverage website last year to highlight the food and beverage sector in the county, which Prichard said has grown from one business when she started working on it 15 years ago, to 23 now, including Grains and Goods Bakery in Sydenham.

Finally she mentioned that one of the biggest challenges for bringing in and retaining businesses in Frontenac County is the lack of employment lands and available spaces for lease.

She used FBS as an example.

“It took us 9 years to find a suitable office space. If I wasn't mandated to be in Frontenac County, I wouldn't have remained and that is what we find. It is a big problem,” she said.

Committee appointments

Before making appointments, councillor Sleeth proposed a motion to limit the membership on the committee to 5. The motion was approved.

Councillor Trueman was appointed to the Heritage Advisory Committee.

Councillors Pegrum and Ruttan were appointed to the Lake Ecosystem Advisory Committee

Councillors Norm Roberts and Ray Leonard were appointed to the Recreation and Leisure Services Advisory Committee.

Public representatives were then appointed.

Summer meeting dates changed

Council approved a proposal to set the July meeting date to the 11th, and the August meeting to August 15th.

Change in vehicle colours

The days are numbered for the bright orange South Frontenac Township vehicles

A staff report called for light duty (smaller) township vehicles to have their colour changed from orange to white, with a vehicle wrap, over the wheels, with the township logo and brand design in orange.

The proposal did not apply to larger vehicles, such as plows.

The plan was approved by Council.

Official Plan Schedule

The Official Plan will come back to council on April 11, and will then be presented to an Open House at the Verona Lions Hall on April 25, and at the Storrington Centre on May 23. A statutory public meeting will take place on May 30 (with a virtual option). The final draft will come to council in the summer, with a view towards adoption by Council and the final approval by Frontenac County set to occur in the fall.

Director of Development Services, Brad Wright, said he expects it to be the early fall when the new plan is approved.

Mayor Vandewal, and Councillor Ruttan, both pointed out that, even with all of the public opportunities to comment, so much of the plan is subject to provincial directives, and Council had little or no ability to make changes that reflect the perspective and desires of either the public or members of council.

Petworth and Bellrock Mills to be demolished

Staff completed an assessment of the cost of bringing the two mills to a point where they can be safely used as public buildings, and found that it would cost between $1.25 and $2.5 million due to “rot and deterioration” to restore the Bellrock Mill.

The cost to repair the Petworth Mill is estimated at about $1.27 million.

Director of Public Services Kyle Bolton recommended that because of the costs, that council consider demolition instead. The first step in that process would be to see if one wall of the Petworth Mill can be saved, as well as some of the equipment from the Bellrock Mill, followed by designing the use of both sites as municipal parkettes.

Bolton recommended hiring a consultant, at a cost of $140,000, to design the demolition and “park space design” for the two sites.

While no one on council objected to the plan, Councillor Doug Morey spoke to the issue.

He said that he regrets that the buildings are in such a state that the cost of retaining them has run over an amount that the township can afford.

“The idea that we the public will not have access to our heritage is extremely unfortunate, and all we will be left with, at best, are some artifacts and a plaque of some sort, but there is nothing that we can do about it at this point.”

“Unfortunately, by the time these properties are turned over to us, they are in such a state of repair that there is nothing we can do but tear them down,” said Mayor Vandewal.

Kyle Bolton's proposal was accepted by Council. The $140,000 cost will come out of carry over projects.