South Frontenac Council Report, December 5

Wilma Kenny | Dec 13, 2023

After vote, Alectra pulls out of South Frontenac Township

SF residents Patricia Dawson and Hellen Hill made a presentation to Council regarding the recent proposal by Alectra Energy Solutions to install two Energy Storage Units in South Frontenac; one on Alton Road, the other on Trousdale Road. Pointing out a number of unresolved questions and concerns, they argued that the Township should not enter into any form of agreement with Alectra at this time. They raised questions about safety, noise potential, pressures on the local fire department and eventual problems related to decommissioning.

In response to Councillor Trueman’s question of where they obtained their information, the speaker said from Electra’s website, environmental articles and Picton Council; “Much of this is still very new.”

Later in the meeting, Council considered two options: 1) Grant a Municipal Council Support Resolution for the proposed battery energy storage system bids located at 3891 Alton Road West, Harrowsmith and 3562 Trousdale Road, Hartington, This support would be contingent upon further negotiations between the Township and Alectra which would include reviews of all pertinent by-laws and standards, further public consultation, and consideration of the impact of all stages of the project on Township infrastructure and resources. Option 2 would be to withhold support for the proposed battery energy storage system bids.

Councillor Pegrum made the motion to support the first option: “This would be provisional, based on criteria the Township sets up; we retain control: we can require that best practices are being met, before we sign on.”

“I’m highly suspicious,” said Councillor Morey: “We’ve had a very short time to consider our options - the combination of large price tag and tight time frame smells bad…seems hasty.”

CAO Fragnito said that the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), which is acting under the direction of the Provincial Minister of Energy, is responsible for setting the deadlines. She added that all steps would be run past the Township’s lawyer.

Councillor Ruttan said that he appreciated Pegrum’s research, but felt he couldn’t support the project, doesn’t like the timeline. Deputy Mayor Sleeth asked what we knew of the financial background of this company: Fragnito replied that due diligence would be done before settling anything. Councillor Leonard said “When the changes are in your own backyard, I can’t support it.” Godfrey asked, “Who benefits? This (has potential to) destroy our natural environment.” Roberts expressed concern about additional pressures on the fire department.

Mayor Vandewal said “We are asking our Fire Department to put their lives on the line all the time; we’re not signing a document, we’re just saying ‘we’re willing to work with you.’ We want cellphones and high-speed internet, but no one wants towers; we expect our garbage to disappear, but we don’t want landfills nearby; the bottom line here is that the Province can always override the Municipality.”

Councillors Pegrum and Trueman asked for a recorded vote on Option One: (see above). The motion was supported by: Godfrey, Sleeth, Pegrum and Trueman, and rejected by: Morey, Roberts, Leonard and Ruttan. Mayor Vandewal said in the case of a tie, lacking unanimous support, he would vote ‘no’.

Option 2, to withhold granting support, was passed; opposed by only Pegrum and Trueman.

(The Township’s website re this meeting’s agenda (sections 10.e & 15.c) has a great deal of background detail regarding this issue.)

Final Report: Private Lane Upgrades

29 of the 32 lane associations which applied to this program were able to complete their work requests; only 3 were unable to advance their projects due to financial or other considerations. A total of $115,815 was paid out, providing financial support to carry out lane improvements which offered direct benefit to emergency service vehicles.

The remaining surplus of $14,279 will be carried forward to next year. This is considered a highly successful program.

Joint Rural Transportation Study

This study, begun in Oct ’22 was completed in September. After assessing a number of options, one of the recommendations is a fixed route that would connect population centres Verona, Harrowsmith and Sydenham to the Cataraqui Centre Transfer point. Further discussion needs to take place between the partners to gather more information, look at options for implementation and possible cost sharing scenarios. A more detailed report will come to Council in 2024.

Bellrock and Petworth Mill Projects

In February ’23, the Public Services Dept. received approval to proceed with the design and demolition of the Bellrock and Petworth Mill structures. The design plan was to include preserving a portion of the Petworth Mill wall as a ruin, repurposing any of the existing materials on both sites, and preserving any salvageable equipment from the Bellrock Mill.

The Bellrock structure was dismantled using an excavator with a clam bucket to carefully remove all pieces which could be salvaged. The site is currently closed until safety features can be installed. All of the salvaged equipment, materials, and tools from the Mill were transported off site for storage, and have been catalogued and numbered. The 2024 budget is proposing a design for a parkette which will include the existing sluiceway and retaining walls, whatever railings are required, and suggestions for ways of incorporating some of the salvaged artifacts from the Mill into the site.

In Petworth, the remaining walls of the mill were dismantled down to a height where the wall was structurally sound, and the removed stone was stored offsite by the Township. Plans for next year are to develop a design for a small park, which will determine whether there can be access down inside the millsite, and provide a landscape plan for the rest of the property as a picnic site. Salvaged stone will be used to fill in the current gaps in the standing walls, which will then be capped to prevent further water damage. To date, the cost of engineering, demolition and preservation of materials for the two sites has been completed for $115,900+HST: a sum within the combined budgets for the projects.

“Looks good so far,” said Mayor Vandewal; You’ve done a fantastic clean-up on both sites.” Later in the meeting, when the question of updating Glendower Hall came up, Vandewal suggested it might be advisable to complete the two mill site projects first.

SHS Reunion Funds

Council received a thank-you report from the SHS reunion committee for the Township’s $5,000 donation: the reunion ended up with a $70,000 surplus, which has been used to create two funds for student benefits. Vandewal commented that he was uncomfortable with this outcome: “Why did they ask us for money?” Ruttan pointed out that it could be interpreted as the Township’s donation having been leveraged into creating ongoing benefits for future South Frontenac Students.