Latest / North Shore News / January 30th, 2025

Transcript

January 30th, 2025 · North Shore News

• 0:00
  Welcome to North Shore News and Interviews on Amherst Island Radio.
• 0:13
  Each week we keep you updated on newsworthy events, happenings, and conversations that
• 0:18
  we've had with people in the local community and beyond.
• 0:26
  The Boylist Township Council approved just over $500,000 in additional funding for the Odessa West Reconstruction Project.
• 0:33
  Staff came to council stating they were 10% over budget due in part to additional costs brought forth by a mistake in the process.
• 0:40
  Engineering and Environment Manager Luke McDonald noted the difference in their original projected costs.
• 0:46
  The additional budget that we're requesting is about 10% of the total approved budget to date.
• 0:50
  I would state we're 10% over budget.
• 0:52
  Staff have attributed this overage to a number of factors including additional work needed on West Street,
• 0:57
  relocating utility hookups due to a mistake, and extra staffing costs.
• 1:02
  Improperly marked field locates for the gas mains during the design phase of the project led to nearly $165,000 in extra costs.
• 1:11
  McDonald explained how this affected the budget for the project.
• 1:14
  He also confirmed that this was not related to the gas leak that took place in Odessa in October.
• 1:19
  The gas leak was on a separate project from this one.
• 1:22
  The improperly marked locates led to a conflict with some of our other buried infrastructure that we were planning.
• 1:28
  So additional gas relocations occurred, which increased the cost of this project.
• 1:32
  McDonald explained, however, that the township would only be covering a portion of the costs incurred by the mistake.
• 1:38
  Our franchise agreement with Enbridge states that any relocations that need to occur within the right of way,
• 1:44
  the township is responsible for paying 30% of the costs, which is where those numbers have come from.
• 1:50
  McDonald details the extra work needed on West Street.
• 1:53
  During the work when we were doing, we had not intended to reconstruct that portion of West Street between Main and South.
• 2:03
  But because of the difficulties we ran into with the series A water main pipe, it was determined that that work had to proceed.
• 2:11
  Council approved funding the increased costs from a mix of debt financing and pulling from respective reserve funds.
• 2:17
  Staff noted, however, that there currently isn't any money in the reserve funds.
• 2:21
  Treasurer Shelly Steadall explains the process they'll be taking going forward.
• 2:26
  There is no money at this point in time from the reserves.
• 2:29
  We're trying to finalize and close out some projects so there's possibility that there could be some money in the reserve.
• 2:34
  But at this point in time, it's all debt financed.
• 2:37
  And then we'll be bringing a report back to council that's going to show exactly what those amounts are.
• 2:42
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
• 2:47
  This is North Shore News.
• 2:49
  Loyalist Township Council approved staff using $25,000 from the Fleet and Equipment Reserve Fund to assess the condition of the township's fleet of vehicles.
• 3:07
  Council approved staff to seek an external consultant for a detailed review of the township's fleet condition and needs, as well as a replacement strategy and an evaluation of their leasing system.
• 3:17
  Along with a review of existing systems, processes, and policies, staff will be looking into fleet modernization as well.
• 3:23
  They'll be considering green alternatives for future replacements and additions.
• 3:27
  Staff plan to use the results of the study as a planning and guidance tool going forward.
• 3:32
  Deputy Mayor Nathan Townen describes the importance of getting the study underway.
• 3:36
  I think this is timely and good to do. Having just gone through budget processes, a lot of what the public sees are the fleet that we have on the road, and there's always comments about that.
• 3:47
  And I think this will serve us to have a strategic approach to our fleet.
• 3:56
  Mayor Jim Hagedor noted the importance of a new strategy going forward.
• 4:00
  I'm glad to see this coming forward. We have looked at different strategies. We've tried some.
• 4:04
  And now it's a good time to find out what's working and what's not, and where we should go in the future.
• 4:09
  I think it's very prudent planning.
• 4:11
  The study would also review the Pilot Enterprise Vehicle Leasing Program to determine if it should continue in its current form.
• 4:18
  This program includes 13 light-duty vehicles.
• 4:21
  Director of Community and Customer Services, Lori McFarland, describes how the data from the survey will help them going forward.
• 4:28
  It'll be a look at what's happening right now. It'll feed into the asset management plan, but as part of it, it'll be recommending different strategies for replacement, and we'll incorporate that into the asset management plan and how we move forward.
• 4:43
  This work was determined to be a priority for early this year because the data is required for the township to start preparing for its long-range financial plan and 2025 updated asset management plan.
• 4:54
  Project funding was not included in the 2025 budget as it was originally due to be completed in the last quarter of 2024.
• 5:01
  Due to competing priorities and reduced staffing levels, this did not occur.
• 5:06
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore News.
• 5:14
  Rock underneath the ground alongside Front Road on Amherst Island is posing a problem for the company looking to bring high-speed internet to residents of the island.
• 5:30
  With upcoming construction set to take place on the road, it leaves the company no room to dig or plow.
• 5:35
  Explore's municipal and utility access relations specialist Tracy Shalifoo noted the importance of the connection along the road and outlined where the company stands on the project.
• 5:45
  It's just one street, but it does provide us connectivity with the rest of the island.
• 5:50
  We have worked with the engineering and planning department. We've spoken to the CAO and her team and as well the roads public works department to try and find a way.
• 6:02
  But we're still back at the point where we don't have a solution as to how to build on that street.
• 6:08
  Shalifoo described the construction process the company was hoping to set in motion.
• 6:12
  It's always going to include the construction methods that all ISPs use. I think the number one method is plowing.
• 6:20
  We'd like to plow in next to the road. It's typically the space that's available. But in this particular case, it's not because of rock.
• 6:28
  The company also looks into being able to use space on existing bell and hydro one poles.
• 6:33
  But in this case, it was not possible due to the amount of extra work the companies would have to do in order for Explore to use them as well.
• 6:40
  Shalifoo noted that the poles won't work and again mentioned the problem they're facing underground.
• 6:45
  We've applied to both to get onto their poles. There's too much make ready work required for hydro one and the bell poles can't accommodate us.
• 6:54
  We've been left with going underground, which we can't do because of the rock. And so now we have a real problem.
• 7:01
  The scope of Ontario's accelerated high speed internet program includes 75,000 homes.
• 7:07
  Shalifoo explains the significance of the program and the project Explore is working on for Amherst Island.
• 7:12
  Typically, so rural that it doesn't make business sense for a company or an ISP like Explore, Rogers or Bell to go and spend $20,000 to go down a road to three homes.
• 7:24
  And so that is the whole purpose behind this project to make it feasible from a business perspective to go and connect those homes.
• 7:32
  Shalifoo describes where the need for the program came from, noting the funding that the government has provided as well as the deadlines they're facing.
• 7:39
  I think during COVID, there was a lot of outages and lag times and Internet service providers going down just too much demand to people working from home and it didn't work.
• 7:50
  So problems came up with an initiative to connect the most rural parts of these communities.
• 7:57
  The accelerated high speed internet program as presented by the province, they provided funding of $4 billion to bring access to reliable high speed Internet.
• 8:08
  So what that looks like from our perspective is we will build this project using our own money, our portion of it, and the province will reimburse us once we've met criteria that they have, which is to be on time and on budget by December of this year.
• 8:25
  So we're kind of on the clock with every portion of this build, including Loyalist, Amherst Island and Instella.
• 8:33
  The Ontario government also passed the Ontario Connected Act in 2022 to help facilitate getting the program underway.
• 8:40
  Shalifoo explained that the government helped them identify homes that need high speed Internet, as well as ones the company would need to bring the service to themselves without being eligible for funding.
• 8:49
  Shalifoo referred to these homes as go it alone homes.
• 8:52
  The government undertook an initiative to find out which homes in rural Ontario don't have basic high speed, which is 5010 service.
• 9:03
  They have identified for us, which are the homes that don't, and they've given given us a map identifying the homes.
• 9:10
  And so our engineers go out and design this project to try and run fiber down streets or on poles to get to these asyp eligible homes.
• 9:18
  Now to go to loan homes, the money spent to connect these homes will be will be our money and there will be no subsidy applied to these homes.
• 9:26
  We will spend our own money with the hopes that we'll get a customer out of that one day.
• 9:31
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore News.
• 9:38
  Prince Edward Lennox and Abingdon Social Services will see additional funding this year from the Canada, Ontario housing benefit.
• 9:53
  With nearly an extra $110,000, they'll be able to support up to 20 individuals.
• 9:58
  Five and a half million dollars is being allocated provincially to top up the benefit this year.
• 10:03
  The province is hoping to free up emergency shelter spaces for people living in encampments.
• 10:08
  The county received correspondence in December from the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Paul Calandra, regarding three funding opportunities.
• 10:16
  The letter provides details on how the funding is to help address encampments and homelessness.
• 10:21
  Prince Edward Lennox and Abingdon Social Services has received funding from the benefit for the last three years,
• 10:27
  including an original total of just over $135,000 for this year. With the addition, their total is now just under a quarter of a million dollars for the fiscal year.
• 10:37
  The county did not have any projects ready in order to be eligible for the other two opportunities.
• 10:42
  Manager of Social Services Scott Robertson explains the point of the benefit and notes what they're working on now.
• 10:48
  The Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit, that's to fund people who are in our transitional housing program to move them from transitional housing so that they can move into permanent housing,
• 11:00
  freeing up space for people in encampments. And we're in the process of doing that. There's some tight timelines.
• 11:07
  So we're just working on it now. And we already have one person from a private encampment in the town of Greater Napa,
• 11:14
  and he out on the west end of Bridge Street who's moving from that encampment into our transitional housing.
• 11:21
  Robertson explains the process they're going through now with local individuals.
• 11:25
  We have to find places for, I think, another eight folks who are living in our transitional housing.
• 11:32
  We can move them into private market rental housing. They get the subsidy to make it affordable.
• 11:40
  And then that frees up a spot in our transitional housing to allow somebody from an encampment to move in.
• 11:48
  And we have to kind of take action on everybody. We're going to help with this funding by March 31.
• 11:54
  The funding that some individuals received from Ontario Works was brought into question regarding if Pellis staff are directing individuals to encampments,
• 12:03
  and if the Ontario Works funding would go towards them living in the encampment.
• 12:07
  Director of Social Services Lynn Schenye explained the reality of the situation.
• 12:12
  I did go back after our last council meeting and confirmed that staff are not referring people to encampments.
• 12:18
  They're having fulsome conversations about what the person's housing options may be,
• 12:23
  whether that's staying with friends or family, renting a room, you know, securing their own place if they have the income to do that.
• 12:31
  So they're having a fulsome conversation and sometimes options work out, sometimes they don't.
• 12:37
  At their November 20th meeting, Councillor Terry Richardson made a motion for County Council to seek legal opinion on the matter of providing financial assistance for those living at encampments.
• 12:46
  Acting Director of Social Services Pam Kent explained the opinion they received,
• 12:50
  noting that withholding the money would create more of a liability.
• 12:54
  If somebody is eligible under the Act, then financial assistance is a benefit they are eligible for, and actually withholding it would create a liability rather than avoiding it.
• 13:04
  And also under the Ontario Works Act, there is no requirement for service managers to assess compliance with other relevant legislation such as zoning, fire code, building code, etc.
• 13:16
  Schenye, citing the legislation they work under, noted her opinion on any potential liability for the county.
• 13:22
  I don't believe that there's any liability on behalf of Pellis or the county because we are following the legislation that we work under and have been tasked with upholding.
• 13:33
  Pellis does not have any ability at all to withhold the funds.
• 13:37
  So if we've received verifiable shelter costs that the person is required to pay, then we are to issue it under the Ontario Works Act, and that's the legislation that we fall under.
• 13:48
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
• 13:53
  This is North Shore News.
• 13:55
  Warden of Lenox and Addington County, Nathan Townend, spoke about the county's response to uncertain times across the world with a focus on economic resilience.
• 14:13
  With the potential of tariffs being imposed by the US, among other concerns, municipal leaders had a lot to chat about at the annual general meeting for the Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus.
• 14:24
  The mayor of Amherst Island recently attended the meeting and spoke afterwards about the local impact of global issues.
• 14:30
  Minister Calandra and Minister Thompson were there from the provincial government.
• 14:34
  Lots of constructive conversations were had.
• 14:37
  I would say that remarks that were made had quite a serious tone.
• 14:42
  I think it's lost on no one that we are in some serious and turbulent times globally and nationally.
• 14:49
  And of course, many discussions were had about how that impacts us at the municipal level, what powers we have to do anything about it, which can seem limited.
• 14:58
  But the message was certainly that we need to continue to create the economic resilience in our communities as much as we possibly can and prepare for some hard times ahead.
• 15:08
  Townend spoke about the work of the Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus.
• 15:12
  The Caucus certainly is doing very, very good work on behalf of Eastern Ontario and has a lot of pull and a lot of strength and a lot of data and research collection capacity, which has an enormous impact in influencing policy decisions at the government level.
• 15:30
  Townend then thanked and officially offered congratulations to some of the other wardens and attendees.
• 15:36
  I officially offer congratulations to Bonnie Clark, the warden of Peterborough County, who has duly elected the chair, and to Steve Ferguson, our neighbor in Prince Edward County, elected as vice chair.
• 15:51
  My thanks also to our member of parliament, Shelby Crap-Nyman, and our member of provincial parliament, Rick Brezee.
• 15:57
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
• 16:02
  This is North Shore News.
• 16:12
  Loyalist Township is reminding residents that they can take advantage of a special discount on dog tags now through March 31st, 2025.
• 16:21
  The discounted rate is just $15.
• 16:24
  After March 31st, the price will return to the regular fee of $30.
• 16:29
  You can pick up your dog tags at locations like the Odessa Municipal Office, Free Flow and Shells Market and Bath, Amherst View Pet Hospital, or WJ Henderson Recreation Center.
• 16:42
  And you can also purchase them online at loyalist.ca.
• 16:47
  For Amherst Island Radio, I'm Jordan Webster.
• 16:52
  This is North Shore News.
• 17:02
  Comedian Al Babcock, who got his start in Kingston, has begun bringing comedy events to Loyalist Township.
• 17:08
  The next show he's set to host in the area is on February 1st, taking place at the Royal Canadian Legion in Bath.
• 17:14
  The show will feature Spencer Rice of the Canadian television series Kenny vs. Spenny.
• 17:19
  Also during the night, there will be stand-up sets by Babcock and other guest comedians.
• 17:24
  Rice will be doing a musical performance.
• 17:27
  Babcock, now based between Kingston and Toronto, is recognized in the Kingston area for his commitment to not only supporting comedy, but bettering the scene and even bringing it to new locations.
• 17:37
  The comedian has shared stages with acts such as Kenny vs. Spenny, Trailer Park Boys, and the insane clown posse.
• 17:44
  His company, AB3 Comedy, has produced over 200 shows in Kingston in the surrounding area since 2016.
• 17:51
  Most recently, he's hosted shows in Ganonakwe, Napa Ne, Sealy's Bay, Kingston, and Bath.
• 17:57
  Babcock speaks on his belief of building a stronger community around comedy in the area.
• 18:02
  We're really hoping that comedy kind of takes off into outskirts of Kingston as well as the city of Kingston, and it all just feeds each other, right?
• 18:12
  Just building the strong comedy community, not only in Kingston but in Bath and in Ganonakwe, it's only going to benefit and bring bigger and better shows to the area.
• 18:25
  Babcock notes how the different feel of smaller venues and communities has helped influence what he's looking to do with the comedy scene in Bath.
• 18:32
  There's a completely different vibe to going into a place like Bath that's so different from doing a show in downtown Toronto or doing a show in downtown Ottawa.
• 18:42
  Not that those aren't great either. Every single comedy show serves its own purpose and has its own vibe, and creating this vibe from the ground up is what we're trying to do here in Bath.
• 18:54
  Babcock explains the history of his comedy career and how he's been bringing comedy shows to surrounding areas of Kingston, including Loyalist Township.
• 19:02
  I've been doing comedy for almost nine years now. I started in the Kingston area. I've moved to Toronto a couple times, the Oshawa area, done comedy there.
• 19:12
  And with AB3 comedy, been mostly focused in the Kingston area with my own shows, but then I've been branching out.
• 19:19
  I've noticed that now there's a lot of comedy in Kingston, which is great, a lot more than there used to be.
• 19:25
  But there wasn't a lot going on in the outskirts of town.
• 19:29
  Ganonakwe, Celies Bay, Bath, even Napa-nee.
• 19:36
  So what I've done is I've made partnerships with the Legion, and I've been doing that for about four months now.
• 19:45
  And the shows have all been great. I think every single show we've done has been sold out, except for one that was due to weather.
• 19:51
  The response has been awesome. So when we reached out to Bath, we really didn't know exactly what the response was going to be.
• 20:00
  But we were pleasantly surprised when it was completely sold out. And not only was it sold out, but everyone had a good time.
• 20:08
  And we're asking when the next one's going to be.
• 20:11
  The comedian's connection to Rice came from back in 2017, when he opened for a live Kenny vs. Spenny comedy night after having only been performing for a year.
• 20:20
  Babcock explains what the experience did for his career and the current shows he's booking along with Rice.
• 20:26
  That went from me performing to, you know, 100 people and even 20 people at OpenMikes to performing for 700 people.
• 20:35
  And that was, I think, what I consider, I guess, not my first big break, because it didn't really get me that far.
• 20:44
  But my first real taste of what a big crowd could be like for comedy.
• 20:49
  I've always kind of stayed in touch and done shows with them here and there.
• 20:53
  And when I started getting these Legion shows going, honestly, the idea just came to me that Spenny is a musician.
• 21:01
  And I thought it'd be great to get together with a musician and maybe do a little bit of a tiny variety show.
• 21:09
  And honestly, came together very quick, sent him a message. He was on board. Boom. We booked two shows. Here we are.
• 21:17
  Reflecting on a previous show, Babcock says he just hopes everyone has a great time.
• 21:22
  We were looking around and there wasn't one person in there that didn't have like a huge smile on her face at the time.
• 21:29
  And that's all we really want. And we want to promote comedians and the comedy community.
• 21:35
  But what everyone really wants is to have a good time and forget about their problems for a couple of hours.
• 21:43
  So that's the main goal in this show and every show that I do.
• 21:49
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore News.
• 22:04
  Loyalist Township has announced that their Family Day event for 2025 will be taking place at the W.J. Henderson Recreation Center.
• 22:12
  As reconstruction is still underway in the aquatic area, the event will be taking place mainly in the arena, library and parking lot.
• 22:19
  The event lasts from noon until 2 p.m. and is free to attend. Public skating will be open for the duration of the event with ice resurfacing taking place midway through.
• 22:28
  The skating portion is sponsored by Lorna Willis and Lynn Wimminga.
• 22:32
  Counselor Paul Proderick speaks about some of the potential highlights from the day.
• 22:36
  The canteen is going to be open and at that time we also hope that some of the Amherst U Jets will join the people who wish to participate in that.
• 22:43
  And in the parking lot we're going to have the Loyalist Emergency Services Truck, which is always a popular activity for the young ones to get a look at it and go through it.
• 22:53
  Proderick lists some of the other activities taking place at the event and offers a note to residents.
• 22:58
  We've got a LEGO station, a coloring station, some temporary tattoos, maybe a bouncy cancel and just dance, and then a photo booth from photo booth Kingston will be there.
• 23:09
  Hope you can join us at the W.J. Recreation Center and maybe take away a little bit of the winter blouse.
• 23:15
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Tat Evans. This is North Shore News.
• 23:22
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• 23:35
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