South Frontenac Council - Dec. 7/10

Jeff Green | Dec 09, 2010

 Close vote for County Rep

By Jeff Green

The new South Frontenac Council got off to a very civilized, almost formal start on Tuesday night, with most members of council decked out in suit and tie to take the oath of office.

To save time, Township CAO Wayne Orr asked the entire council to stand up and read out the oath at the same time. They were not exactly in unison, but they got through it.

The new council made every effort to establish a tone of respect and harmony, a marked contrast to some of the no-holds-barred debates that have been a feature of South Frontenac Council for several terms.

However, this attempt at decorum could not paper over the divisions that surfaced when it came time to select a second township representative to join Mayor Davison on Frontenac County Council.

Before conducting the election, CAO Orr asked council to approve the election process that he had circulated in advance.

The election started with a call for nominations, which required a nominator and seconder for each candidate.

Portland Councilor Bill Robinson was first off the mark, nominating his rookie Portland colleague John McDougall, seconded by Loughborough Councillor Allan McPhail. McDougall accepted the nomination.

Bedford Councilor Del Stowe then nominated Loughborough Councilor Ron Vandewal, seconded by Storrrington’s Larry York, and Vandewal accepted the nomination.

Both candidates were given an opportunity to speak before the vote was conducted.

John McDougall talked about some of the failings of the relationship between Frontenac County and its member municipalities, citing the recent decision by Frontenac County to do a Community Improvement Plan for Verona without consulting anyone from South Frontenac Council. However, he also said, “It is my belief that a collaborative, thoughtful relationship with the county will yield benefits for all of us.”

Ron Vandewal was bit harsher in his attitude, citing some of his experiences over the years when he was invited, as a township councilor, to county meetings but was then told he could not participate in the discussion. “We need more transparency and more dialogue, more input from our council on major decisions. If the county is creating a new position there needs to be enough lead time so that our council can be informed before the vote is taken, because at the end of the day it our South Frontenac ratepayers who pay most of that salary,” he said.

When it came time to vote, each member of council had the opportunity to vote yes or no for each candidate, leaving open the possibility of each getting majority support.

In the end everyone supported only one candidate, and John McDougall won the position in a 5-4 vote.

For the record, Councilors McDougall, Robinson, McPhail, Cam Naish and Mark Tinlin said yes for John McDougall, and Councilors Vandewal, Stowe, York and Mayor Davison supported Ron Vandewal.

The county representative position is a four-year appointment.

By Wilma Kenny

Mayor Davison opened the meeting with congratulations to the Sydenham High School football team, the Golden Eagles, for their excellent performance this year: “A big part of South Frontenac is our high school, and they represented us very well,” he said.

Public Meeting re Wolfe Lake Property

Planner Lindsay Mills introduced a public meeting to review a proposed application for an Official Plan Amendment that would re-designate an area from ‘agricultural’ to ‘rural.’ The area in question is 178 acres, divided into seven parcels of land, lying between Wolfe Lake, Westport Road, and Hanna Road. A re-designation would mean the land was no longer set aside solely for agricultural use, and would become eligible for possible residential development. (Any future land divisions would be subject to public review.) Part of the presentation included a letter from the president of the Wolfe Lake Association, asking about opportunities for public input, but no one spoke on their behalf.

Mills noted that in several ways, this land does not conform to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) standards for prime agricultural designation. It is relatively small; ownership of the area is fragmented; there is only one small farm in the area, and it is on the edge of the shield, so parts of it are sloping, wet or rocky.

Council received the report. No Official Plan Amendment can be made until the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing gives their approval.

Private Lane Upgrading Program

Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth reported that there has been “an overwhelming response” this year to the township’s program to help subsidize public lane improvements. The program was introduced three years ago with the intent of improving access for emergency vehicles, but this has been the first time it has been available outside Bedford district. Twenty lane associations qualified for assistance: in order to distribute the budgeted $40,000 equitably, first-time applicants received 40% of the amount they spent on road improvements, those which had received previous subsidies got 25%, and one lane Burega Lane, where the residents invested almost $40,000 on improvements, got a 20% rebate.

If we gave the Burega Lane residents a 40 or 50 per cent subsidy there would have been no money left for everyone else. We tried to do the best we could for the most people,” Mark Segsworth said.

In summary, Segsworth said he felt the program was valuable, but it was time to review and refine the criteria. He will present his recommendations at the 2011 budget. Several councilors agreed with the need for more clearly defined guidelines. They passed a resolution to pay the subsidies as recommended.

Deputy Mayor appointed

Mayor Davison recommended council follow the tradition of appointing the councilors who received the highest number of votes in each of their districts as deputy mayor for one year each. Mark Tinlin took the oath of office for the coming year; he will be followed by McDougall, Naish and Vandewal.

Meeting Schedule changes

Council agreed to cancel the December 28 Council of the Whole meeting, and the January 4 council meeting. Both January 11 and 18 will be council meetings, and January 25 will be a Committee of the Whole meeting.