South Frontenac Council – Sep 20/11

Wilma Kenny | Sep 22, 2011

“Our Roads need to be safe for all”

Bedford Road resident Kathy DePlanche brought Council a 125-name petition asking for a sidewalk on Bedford Road from Sydenham village to the corner of Alton Road. In response, Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth said he hoped, in the upcoming budget deliberations, to bring forward a three-year plan to upgrade more township roads, not only for better surfaces and drainage, but also to make them safer routes for everyone, including bicycles and pedestrians. He specifically mentioned not only the strip of Bedford out of the village, but also Rutledge Road between the high school and the mini-mall, an area heavily traversed by both cars and students.

Annual Cataraqui Trail donation

In 2007, Council approved a yearly donation of $5,000 for three years to the Cataraqui Trail Association to enhance trails and offset capital expenses. They agreed to re-instate this annual donation for the duration of 2011-2015, after Councillor Alan McPhail reminded them that the trail association does not get funding from the Conservation Authority, and Councillor Del Stowe pointed out that not only does the money came out of the township’s parks fund, it is also partly offset by work in kind done on the trail by the township’s public works crews.

Increased Recycling Collection Costs

Public Works Mark Segsworth reported that since initiation of “all plastics” recycling in May, the volume of recycling has increased, so that contractors have had to make extra trips to KARC (Kingston Area Recycling Corporation). He said that he is working with staff at KARC to develop an objective formula to accurately measure this impact, and asked that council consider paying contractors a 5% increase retroactive to June, 2011 as a measure of good faith.

Segsworth expects to have a formula to address the collection of additional materials in place by December. He pointed out that the original contract with the collectors had made no allowance for this sort of increase.

“Doesn’t this mean there’s correspondingly less garbage to be collected?” asked Councillor Ron Vandewal, “We’ve already made fuel allowances.”

“If gas goes up tomorrow, will we have to pay the parks maintenance staff more?” asked Del Stowe.

Only Councillor Robinson commented that the additional loads were not covered in the contract between the township and the collectors.

Council agreed to defer any extra payments until they have more information.

(for a complete list of recyclables, go to southfrontenac.on.ca/garbage and look for Recycling Guidelines)

Amendments to Procedural By-law

On the recommendation of the Corporate Services Committee, Council has accepted some changes to their meeting procedures. Most were minor ‘housekeeping’ issues: a couple may be of interest to the public: any ‘in camera’ sessions will be held before the 7 pm public meeting, and all delegations will come before the Committee of the Whole, only. As well, delegations will be required to provide a written summary of their presentation on the Thursday prior to the meeting.