Report to Ratepayers and Residents - April 2022

Hello, everyone

It seems that winter has stubbornly relented, and we are now transitioning into Spring.

First, and foremost, the end of mandates is allowing us to imagine a world where COVID does not dominate our lives. Of course, vaccines and masks are not a municipal responsibility, but they have impacted how we conduct business. And opinions are split. For every person who is happy to not wear masks, there are others who prefer to continue. For my part, I have been someone who received three vaccine doses and has followed the mandates. My reading of the situation has been that this was the prudent course of action. But I have worried about the split that has occurred between people – in families and in communities – over the past two years. Without judgment, I do believe that healing the divisions in our society will take longer than besting COVID. Where people show kindness and understanding, it is not impossible.

COVID has had a lasting impact on our community, namely in its growth. Over a decade ago, the full-time population of Central Frontenac declined. Since 2016, it has not only made back those losses but has added beyond that. We grew by 12% in the past five years and if the next five years are the same, our full-time population will have increased by one-quarter in a decade. This says nothing of the increase in seasonal residents. When I first joined Council in 2015, our year-over-year construction value was in the range of $5 to 8 million. In 2021, we closed in on the $20 million mark.

More people mean more tax revenue and more economic activity, but it also means dealing with issues that rural communities don’t normally deal with – issues related to zoning, planning, and simply neighbours working out their differences as they all try to live their own lives as they see fit. I do believe that there is a balance, but it will take work, patience and a bit of imaginative thinking.

We recently concluded a successful year at the Frontenac Community Arena, reopening after both COVID and our major renovations to the facility. Welcoming back our Flyers and Fury families, joined by the Frontenac Phantoms, it is good to see hockey back at the “Piccachill” – now and for years to come.

Recently, the Township’s Economic Development Committee finished the Downtown Revitalization Strategic Plan for Sharbot Lake. It has been a project that has engaged the time and talents of many on the Committee, as well as staff and members of the community. With the completion of this report, we are left with two challenges – how to make the report’s recommendations a reality and how to expand this work to the whole township. The Committee is now reviewing how to replicate the Sharbot Lake initiative in Parham and Tichborne, Godfrey, Henderson, Arden and Mountain Grove. Every community is different, and starting out from a different place, but the work down in Sharbot Lake gives us a template for the work, valuable market research and experience in how to do it. For me, I want to see if we can recapture some of our past, when many of these villages and hamlets had local grocery stores, gas stations and other family businesses active in the area. The growth in local population, combined with a strategic plan, could make a difference.

Probably the most significant issue coming up will be the discussion on the Township’s Zoning By-Law. As a background, zoning by-laws need to conform to the Official Plan. If you pass a new Official Plan, it means you look at the by-laws too. Over the past few weeks, many of you may have noticed posts on social media discussing various issues – ranging from food trucks to shipping containers and a whole host of other things. Like other members of Council, I have been following the discussion and the comments. They are vital to us making the right decisions.

While I don’t want to fix onto any specific thing, I want to share with you some thoughts.

Bylaws are like any other rules – they come about to settle issues between people. We are all different – different lifestyles and different opinions. In a perfect world, all of us are perfectly free to live as we choose with no restriction. That said, we all know that there will be times where those choices have a knock-on effect on others, and not always in a good way. By-laws are an attempt to find compromises where we can live as freely as we can without causing problems for others.

My view is that the right balance is that where we do not impede on people’s rights unless there is a danger to human health, to the environment, or a situation where actions are causing others not to be able to enjoy their legal rights. We must also remember that by-laws are a blunt instrument. Some may want a restriction to address a problem with a neighbour, but by-laws apply to every resident and ratepayer in the township. Settling disputes over a fence line need to be done without drawing in thousands of people from every corner of the municipality. The township is responsible to all its citizens and has to be an honest broker to all.

The changing nature of our community means we need to update the rules that govern how we deal with each other, but those rules should be impartial and be motivated by the desire to protect us all without fear or favour.

On an entirely different topic, the District 4 Recreation Committee is holding a Vendor Fair at the Parham Fair Grounds on May 14th starting at 10 am. Buyers (and sellers) are all welcome!

In closing, I want to wish everyone the very best. It has been a difficult time for so many, and even with the end of lockdowns, there are many who still struggle – physically and emotionally. A kind word, a phone call, a friendly message or a knock on the door can mean so much to someone.

Take care of yourselves, and one another.

Brent