South Frontenac Council

Wilma Kenny | May 20, 2015

Q: When Could a Tagged Bag of Garbage Cost $20 ?

A: When you bring it to the Loughborough or Portland waste sites: there you will be charged the minimum dumping rate, even if it’s just one bag.

May 5th, councillors Sleeth and Robinson brought a notice of motion that tagged bags of garbage should be accepted at all Township waste sites. “Why should we pay twice, once in our taxes, and again at the dump?” asked Sleeth.

Public Works Manager Segsworth didn’t mince words. “It’s critical that Council knows staff’s view: we feel very strongly that it’s taking a step backward, to accept tagged bags at Loughborough and Portland. We can’t afford to extend alternatives for the convenience of a few. We’re not sitting on the fence in this one.” Residents can dispose of tagged bags for no extra fee at Green Bay, Bradshaw and Salem waste disposal sites: Green Bay is open Sunday afternoons for the convenience of weekend cottagers. Segsworth said that the three Bedford area sites no longer accept any other types of waste.

Deputy Mayor McDougall agreed with Segsworth, saying that while increased efficiencies at the waste sites were originally a contentious issue, there seems to now be a lot more acceptance of the current system which provides weekly curbside pickup for all Township households on public roads and helps provide end-of-lane bins and bear-proof containers.

Councillor Sutherland said he appreciated the vast improvements in the waste disposal system, but asked whether the Township could offer a year’s trial at permitting tagged bags at all sites.

Mayor Vandewal said that many of the residents who opposed curbside pickup now seemed to appreciate it; “It could create more problems if we went back now. I don’t think we should ignore our staff.”

The motion to change the system was strongly defeated.

Trailers, Licensed and Otherwise

The (twice extended) time period to comply with the Township’s 2004 prohibition of the use of trailers on private residential lots expires Dec 2015. Following a lengthy discussion at last week’s Committee of the Whole meeting, Council still could not provide a clear resolution to this long-running saga.

Issues raised included: lack of ongoing public health enforcement, replacement of old trailers with new ones, new trailers still appearing on new lots without licences or enforcement, the cost of enforcement, the need to deal decisively with the trailer issue, and the social implications of removing trailers where people live in them as a year-round residence.

Based on Council’s discussions and the reduction of the numbers of licensed trailers over the past few years, CAO Orr drew up a compromise recommendation with the following points: extend the compliance date for the prohibition of licensed trailers on private residential property to December 31, 2019; ask the Health Unit to reinspect the current 81 licensed trailers to ensure waste disposal systems are in compliance with environmental regulations, before their licences can be renewed; direct bylaw enforcement services to proactively enforce the prohibition of unlicensed trailers, and advise in writing all current trailer license holders of this change.

A motion to accept this recommendation passed without discussion.

New Leaf Link Support

Council agreed with Corporate Services Committee’s recommendation of a one-time transitional grant of $3,980 to New Leaf Link to assist their relocation to a more accessible site. Councillors Sutherland and Schjerning said that although they agreed with the grant, they both saw this as a Provincial responsibility. Deputy Mayor McDougall agreed, but also suggested that it was possible that Frontenac County might be able to offer some transportation help for the group.

Applewood Resort

Council passed a bylaw permitting a revision to the Applewood site plan agreement that will permit the developer to build four rental units on the property (presently zoned Recreational Resort Commercial), where he is proposing a condominium development.