Report to Ratepayers and Residents - October 2016

Good (rainy) morning, all,

Just a quick update on some goings-on in the Township:

1. Solar projects – as indicated in the Frontenac News, there were 6 solar projects brought forward to receive municipal support. These are solar projects that are on the ground and can cover 2-3 acres. I say ‘support’ because we don’t get to approve these – the province does. The IESO approves a certain number of SolarFIT projects each year, and it’s based on a points system (The more points, the better your chances). Projects can get ‘points’ if they get an endorsement from the local municipality. For those projects that already have a high score, they may not need them. For those that are lower ranked, it could make the difference between approved or not.

We can’t stop these things from going in. You may not know this, but we can’t even compel them to notify neighbours that they are going in. All we can do is vote to give – or withhold – the priority points they want to count toward an approval.

It was my contention that if we are asked to give a resolution of support, we make public meetings a condition for it. No meetings or notification, no points. My comment was that if they felt their application was that strong, they could just go ahead and ignore us, but if they want those priority points bad enough, they’ll rent a hall.

A comment was made that if we do this, then we’ll have a ton of meetings. To be blunt, my answer is ‘So what?’ The cost and organization of the meeting would be the responsibility of the applicant – not the township. I remarked that no person in Central Frontenac should find out that a 2 acre solar farm is going in next door to them the morning the bulldozers and dump trucks show up.

I am pleased to say that the consensus of Council was that all future projects will need to meet this condition before we entertain any endorsement.

2. Hinchinbrooke School – Council voted to shut off the heat and hydro over the winter – with a cost of between $500 and $2000. The downside is the possible risk of frost damage, but this is very low. The other side is the fact that to heat the building we would need to replace the oil tanks, and the cheapest option would be $10,000. This does not include the oil itself – or the hydro.

The school purchases continue to be contentious, and I understand that. I don’t like spending your money if we can avoid it. When we do spend it, I want to make sure it is for a good reason and that it stands an excellent chance in allowing us to get back more than we put in.

In the case of Sharbot Lake Public School, we are moving on working with the County on getting the promised funds and approval for a geared to income seniors housing project.

This is not a vague promise. Bill MacDonald and Tom Dewey are on the oversight committee. Frontenac Islands has already begun construction on theirs, and South Frontenac is currently scoping out a site to place theirs.

We have facilities in the township, but not geared to income. For that, you have to go to Northbrook or Glenburnie or Perth – provided they have room. In all cases, you have to leave Central Frontenac.

When seniors stay in the township, we keep families together. We also keep money in the township.

Regarding Hinchinbrooke, the District Rec Committee has already secured funding from the Community Foundation of Greater Kingston to do a feasibility study on developing the property into a community centre. There are groups that have already expressed an interest in renting space. Beyond that, I believe that allocating a portion of the building to house private businesses can ensure that the project pays its way.

3. Property Standards By-Law – As reported, the Province of Ontario has indicated that by mid-2018, municipalities will have to take on the enforcement of the Residential Tenancies Act. This has not been formally passed, so there is a chance that it might not happen. Let’s assume, though, that it does.

It means that the Township will have to enforce rental property standards – including establishing a Landlord and Tenant Board.

The Province gives two options for getting this done for municipalities that do not have a property standards by-law (well over 90): Option 1 is to pass a ‘Property Standards By-law’ that covers this; and Option 2: Pass a ‘Residential Tenancy By-law’ to cover what is being downloaded.

My preference is for Option 2.

By-law enforcement is, to be candid, complaint-driven. We don’t do surprise inspections. If a by-law officer comes to your property, it is because a neighbor complained. There are many cases where these complaints are legitimate and fully justified, but there are a lot that either get sorted out by neighbours actually talking to one another, or are found to be based on one person trying to get even with another (Yes, it happens).

The safe properties by-law, which is now put on hold pending this, allowed for enforcement officers to enter private property without notifying the owner in advance. I had difficulty with this and made my views known (including to CBC Radio this past summer). The one thing was that while it gave permission to go on the property, it stopped at allowing an enforcement officer to go into your house.

If we combine residential tenancy enforcement with general property standards, that changes. If a neighbor you are feuding with calls and said they went to your house for coffee and noticed an issue in your bathroom, it would have to be investigated and yes – they would have the right to enter your house. It could be a bogus complaint, but the only way to know that is to actually go in. This was the example I gave at Council, and the answer was that this was a plausible scenario.

If we have to take this on, that’s one thing – but I am not in favour of extending Landlord and Tenant levels of property standard enforcement on private dwellings that are owned by the occupant.

I will continue to argue for separate treatment.

Summing Up - As always, it is a privilege to be on Council. It can be challenging - and yes, stressful - but I have yet to find anyone who has been anything but reasonable, patient and sincere. Issues come up, and they affect people’s day-to-day lives. When I get brought in, it’s usually when people are frustrated. I get that and understand.

My job is to alleviate that frustration. I hope that I have been able to do that. Where I haven’t, I certainly hope that we (meaning I) can do better in the future.

You are the best neighbours and friends in the world, and I thank you for your support.

Cheers,

Brent