South Frontenac Council

Jeff Green | Jan 14, 2015

South Frontenac takes a first look at capital budget

Much of the 2015 South Frontenac capital budget consists of relatively small expenditures and two larger amounts that were set in place several years ago: $5 million in road reconstruction work and $500,000 for the replacement of ageing machinery.

The road construction budget is part of a 10-year road improvement plan, and this year involves $1 million for Yarker Road, $1.125 million for resurfacing various roads, along with work on Washburn Road ($300,000), the Camden/Portland Boundary Road ($600,000), Bobs Lake Road ($400,00), and $500,000 for road rehabilitation in the village of Bellrock, among other projects.

As far as equipment goes the plan is to purchase a tandem dump truck, two backhoes and one half ton truck.

The one item that has the largest effect on the budget is the projected $2.2 million cost of a new fire hall in Perth Road Village.

As the result of all this spending, the projected cash reserves of South Frontenac are set to drop from $16.4 million at the beginning of the year to $13.5 million at the end of 2015.

In terms of spending on recreational facilities, a lot of work is planned for the Point Park in Sydenham, including a $100,000 cost for shoreline restoration and enhancement and another $100,000 to tear up and replace the football field. The football field project, which would require that the field be out of service for a full year, from spring 2015 until spring 2016, will only be done if the Limestone District School Board agrees to pay half of the cost - $50,000.

“We are waiting until we hear from the school board, but the field needs to be rebuilt or it will become unusable,” said Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth.

As staff members went over the capital budget, councilors asked a number of questions for clarification. Debate on the merits of proposed projects will take place at a meeting on January 27. At that time details about the plans for the Perth Road fire hall will be available.

Federal grant for township museum

The federal government has approved a $50,000 grant to help pay some of the costs of making the planned township museum in Hartington a fully accessible facility.

“We applied for $76,0000 and they are giving us $50,000” said Chief Administrative Officer Wayne Orr. The rest of the money has been allocated in the proposed township budget for this year.

Johnston Point Development

The proponents as well as the township planning department made presentations about a proposed 14-unit plan of condominium on a 100 acre parcel of land on a shallow bay of Loughborough Lake off North Shore Road. Most of the required reports (archaeological, hydro-geological, environmental impact, etc.) for the project have been completed and the township planning department as well as the Cataraqui Conservation Authority have expressed support for the project, provided certain conditions are met. The average lot size is 5 acres and water-frontage is over 300 feet for all of the waterfront lots.

However, since some of the lots are near provincially significant wetlands, and Loughborough Lake is already highly populated, a number of members of the public would like to comment on the proposal. An official public meeting has already been held on the proposal, in October of 2014, but that was before the old council.

A subsequent public session has been scheduled for March 2, starting at 6 p.m. At 6:30 Council will convene and listen to presentations from members of the public about the proposal.

Southern Frontenac Community Services (SFCS)

David Townsend made his annual presentation to Council on behalf of SFCS. He talked of the agency's commitment to serving the elderly and those with financial challenges in the township, and reported that in 2014 SFCS was able to run a modest surplus ($4,500) out of a budget that for the first time topped $1 million.

Townsend said that SFCS would like to build an addition to their headquarters at the Grace Centre on Stagecoach Road, but that they need to get themselves formally aligned with the Ministry of Health in order to access provincial dollars. Townsend concluded by saying that increasing numbers of South Frontenac residents are accessing their programs and they need continued public support to be able to afford to meet the demand.