Township South Frontenac - July 16/24

Wilma Kenny | Jul 24, 2024

Mayor Vandewal opened the meeting by offering congratulations to Councillor Norm Roberts and his wife Connie, on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary.

Deputy Mayor

Portland Councillor Morey was sworn in as Deputy Mayor for the remainder of 2024. The position of Deputy Mayor is shared equally between the four Township districts during a four-year term of office. At the suggestion of current Deputy Mayor Leonard, he and Morey had agreed to share the role when it was their turn. 

Zone Change

Council approved a zone change from rural commercial to residential on a 2-acre lot recently severed from the Rivendell Golf Club property owned by Ken Harper, on Miller road.

Verona Housing

Council approved awarding an Environmental Impact Study contract to Cambium Inc.for a total amount of $42,000, in order to support the servicing and design of the Verona Project site. Cambium is already familiar with the project and has a good history of working for the Township. They also agreed to send a letter of support of the localization of communal servicing at the municipal level to the Eastern Ont Regional Network (EORN), to encourage further funding from CMHC’s Housing Supply Challenge.

Speed Limit Review/Request: Battersea Road

Last November, the principal of Storrington Public school submitted a request to lower the speed in the area of the school: it was supported by a letter from the Tri-Board Transportation Services, and a petition of over 130 signatures. As a result, and lacking an established policy, Council directed staff to provide a ‘technical review’, which included background research, correspondence, site meetings and evaluations and preparation of final reports. The resulting recommendation was to implement a new 60 km/hr on Battersea Road from 650m north of Millburn Rd to 205 m south of the intersection of Round Lake Road.

This led to a lengthy and lively discussion of having varied speed limits on arterial roads intended to move traffic, culminating in a rant from Mayor Vandewal: “Perth Road School will be next, in spite of their chain link fence along the road: if this keeps on going, we’ll have speed bumps and 4-way stops all over the Township!”

Council approved the speed change.

Work on Recently-acquired Property

Council approved a budget of $100,000 for demolition and cleanup of the recently acquired 4265 Stagecoach Road, a piece of property between the SFCS Grace Centre and the Firehall. This will include decommissioning of two wells, removal of oil tanks, a house, 3 outbuildings, a barn and miscellaneous debris. The house is currently being broken into, so the property needs to be made safe and less of an attractive nuisance as soon as possible. Mayor Vandewal noted that it is a large village property, with access to Township water.

Funding Access Continued

Council authorized a 10-year renewal of the CCBF (previous Federal Gas Tax, now Canada Community-Building Fund) agreement to access funding allocated to the Township. Over the past 5 years, SF has received almost $3,000,000 which has funded critical infrastructure projects such as Road reconstruction, installation of new LED streetlights, Official Plan and Asset Management updates, the Gilmour Point Beach pavilion, etc.

Public Services Quarterly Report

Kyle Bolton, Director of Public Services, presented the second quarter Public Services Report: Mayor Vandewal commented that it represented a lot of work to produce, and suggested that an annual report should suffice. Bolton replied that although he appreciated Council’s confidence in his team, he thought a quarterly report helped keep Council up to date on projects and levels of service, and better informed for responding to queries from the public. He also noted there is value in Council having regular updates when it comes to making future plans.

CAO Louise Fragnito suggested that perhaps seasonal updates or quarterly financial reports might also be helpful for Council.

Unopened Road Allowances Closure Discussion

A recommendation that Council agree in Principal to the closure of unopened road allowances on land on Bob’s Lake near Burridge Road and Campground Lane, owned by Cavan Properties Holding Corp. led to a lengthy discussion. At Councillor Pegrum’s suggestion, road allowances A&B, which do not run directly to water, were addressed separately from the third, and most controversial portion, identified as C. Section D, which runs directly to water, will not be closed.

Section C is a stub of road allowance running along the waterfront, and separating a small triangle of property from the township owned water access road allowance (Section “D”), and the rest of the applicant’s property. CAO Fragnito described closure and sale of this as a “housekeeping issue” which would permit two small bits of property to merge. In support,  Councillor Trueman asked “Is the Township really ever going to use that land as water access for our constituents?” Mayor Vandewal agreed: “We’re cleaning up a bit: we might as well sell it, for it’s not being used (by the Township) as access to water.” Councillor Ruttan expressed surprise, and asked for further discussion: “We rarely close lake access points.”

(Some of Council’s reactions appeared to be coloured by the owner’s previous “inappropriate treatment” of this property, as well as the strong concerns expressed by neighbouring property owners.) 

Councillor Ruttan asked for recorded votes. Closure and sale of sections A&B were approved, (Ruttan and Turcotte opposed) with some reference to the applicant’s previous “inappropriate behaviour” ie, destruction of vegetation, on Campground Lane. The proposal to close Section ‘C’ was defeated, with only Councillor Leonard and Mayor Vandewal in favour.

Open Farms Proclamation

August 16-Sept 30 was declared “Open Farms” in South Frontenac in recognition and celebration of the many SF farms and food related businesses: there will be an opening event at the Frontenac Farmers’ Market on Aug 16 at Centennial Park.

Gear Up for Greatness

A Youth Sports Drive will be held at Centennial Park Harrowsmith,

On August 24, from 10:00 am-3:30 pm, to exchange hockey equipment. This community event will also feature live music, food, kids’ activities and a licensed beer garden.

Comments: Councillor Turcotte described the Quinte Conservation Authority’s pleasant, accessible boardwalk along the Rideau river. 

Councillor Trueman asked how more vendors could be attracted to the Farmers’ Market: answer was that this was managed by the Frontenac Farmers Association, not Council.

Councillor Sleeth noted that the the Township-owned waterfront in Battersea was a great investment: “It has become a worthwhile and well-used asset.”

Council entered closed session to discuss “ a proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land by the Municipality or local board - Loughborough District.”