Latest / North Shore News / May 22nd, 2025

Transcript

May 22nd, 2025 · North Shore News

• 0:07
  Welcome to North Shore News and Interviews on
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  Amherst Island Radio. Each week we keep you updated
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  on newsworthy events, happenings and conversations
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  that we've had with people in the local community
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  and beyond. It was a close 4 -3 vote in favour
• 0:27
  of a proposed ward boundary update at Loyalist
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  Township's latest council meeting. The three
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  opposing members voiced concerns about fair representation
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  and extreme population disparity. At a special
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  committee of the whole meeting last month, it
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  was a 4 -3 vote as well. After much discussion,
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  option one was chosen and brought to council.
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  This option will see the division of the existing
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  three wards into five new wards. The new configuration
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  includes Amherst Island as its own ward, although
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  its population is only around 450 people. Councillor
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  Jake Ennis made note of this while speaking about
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  population disparity. It's well established that
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  a variance of up to 25 % can be appropriate for
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  good reason, perhaps up to 33 % in some municipal
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  LT decisions. Here it's 500 % plus. If this by
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  -law stands, I think it would set a problematic
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  precedent. If 919 people in one ward versus over
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  5 ,000 people in other wards is okay, when does
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  the disparity ever become not okay? And has spoke
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  about different views towards each option. In
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  my view, those supportive of this motion are
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  okay with mixing rural mainlanders and urban
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  mainlanders in one ward. but are not okay with
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  mixing islanders and mainlanders in one ward.
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  Why? I'm not sure. My view is that those supportive
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  of this option erred in their focus on this community
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  versus that community, where instead the main
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  focus in my view should have been on each person
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  in Loyalist and each person's charter right to
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  relative equality of voting power and effective
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  representation. While reviewing options, staff
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  noted they were looking to evaluate the current
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  electoral arrangements, including how council
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  representatives are elected, existing ward boundaries,
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  and overall council composition. Staff's original
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  report noted a key objective was to support anticipated
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  growth over the next three municipal election
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  cycles. More information and an interactive map
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  are available on the township's website. For
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  Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
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  Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore
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  News. Loyalist Township is proclaiming June as
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  Stroke Endophagia Awareness Month. The Greater
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  Kingston Victorian Order of Nurses approached
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  Township Council with a proclamation request.
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  The organization offers community support programs
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  for seniors and persons with disabilities. Their
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  stroke services programs offer free non -medical
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  support to individuals and families affected
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  by stroke endophagia. There are monthly groups
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  held in Sydenham, Kingston, and Napanee. Social
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  worker and coordinator of stroke services with
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  the Greater Kingston Victorian Order of Nurses,
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  Amelia Leslie, notes the importance of awareness,
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  highlighting statistics in Canada. We have over
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  108 ,000 new strokes in Canada annually, with
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  over 800 ,000 Canadians living with the effects
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  of stroke, and stroke does happen every five
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  minutes in Canada. The organization encourages
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  community members to recognize the warning signs
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  of a stroke and to immediately call 911. They're
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  also encouraging people to learn about aphasia
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  and how to promote accessible communication.
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  Lesley explains the medical conditions. Stroke
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  being a neurological condition affecting the
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  disruption of blood flow in the brain. And because
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  the brains are control center of everything,
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  anything can be affected. When we talk about
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  aphasia, it's a language, a communication disorder
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  affecting our ability to read or write or produce
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  speech or understand speech, but not affecting
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  our intelligence. Leslie mentions the need for
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  communication accessibility and the awareness
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  of it as well. We're often teaching the community
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  about what's called accessible communication
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  strategies. We think about accessibility as far
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  as physical space, maybe having a ramp or an
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  automatic door button, but we are also teaching
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  folks about the communication accessibility.
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  Leslie notes the importance of Stroke and Aphasia
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  Awareness Month in all communities. We work all
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  year to raise awareness about these neurological
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  conditions. And June is Stroke and Aphasia Awareness
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  Month in Canada. So we're especially inviting
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  our communities to learn what stroke and aphasia
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  are and how to help. For Amherst Island Radio
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  and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted
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  Evans. This is North Shore News. Loyalist Township
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  Council recognized the work of volunteers who
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  ran local outdoor rinks this winter. Nine individuals
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  were given certificates for their efforts in
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  setting up and maintaining the rinks. Under the
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  township's community outdoor rinks program, three
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  rinks operated for a total of 53 days this past
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  season. There was the rink at Skater Park in
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  Odessa, a rink in front of Bath Public School,
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  and a rink in Amherst View. Mayor Jim Hagedorn
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  noted the weather conditions and the work of
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  volunteers. This was our second year with the
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  community outdoor rink program and our first
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  year with weather that cooperated to allow for
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  three skatable outdoor rinks in our community.
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  Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our
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  volunteers, the rinks were open for an incredible
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  53 days and were enjoyed frequently. That means
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  53 days of hard work for everybody that volunteered.
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  That's pretty amazing. Hagedorn spoke about the
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  local impact of the rinks. These teams of dedicated
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  volunteers built and maintain ICE daily, giving
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  residents of all ages a safe and fun place to
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  skate, play hockey, and enjoy the outdoors. Their
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  efforts created more than just rinks. They built
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  spaces for connection, activity, and community
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  spirit during the coldest months of the year.
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  Hagedorn thanked the volunteers directly. I'd
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  like to extend our sincere thanks to the volunteers
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  behind the past winter's community outdoor rink
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  season. On behalf of Council, Thank you for your
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  time and commitment. Thank you again for making
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  this winter one to remember. For Amherst Island
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  Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm
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  Ted Evans. This is North Shore News. A new water
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  pollution control plant upgrade and replacement
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  project in Napanee is underway. Greater Napanee
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  Council approved a contract with Peak Construction
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  for nearly $75 .5 million. The overall project
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  cost is nearly $88 million, with $34 .8 million
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  in funding coming from the province and another
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  $14 million from the federal government. Between
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  that funding and the town's reserves, it leaves
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  $25 million to be funded through loans. Staff
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  noted a total of $5 .5 million in contingencies,
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  with $4 million of it built into tender pricing
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  as an allowance for tariffs. Mayor Terry Richardson
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  spoke about the scale of the project. I know
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  folks out there are going to say, I was $25 million
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  affordable, but an affordable way of getting
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  this municipality into the future. I've said
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  it many times that this is the largest purchase,
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  largest investment we've made in this municipality
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  in 170 years. And there are a lot of other municipalities,
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  I think, would be. wishing they were in the position
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  that we are right now. Yes, $25 million is a
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  lot of money to take a loan out on, but it is
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  our future. We couldn't do it without the help
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  of our partners, of our federal partners. Maybe
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  more importantly, our provincial partners who
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  I couldn't imagine having this conversation if
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  we didn't have the funding that we received to
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  get us where we need to, because if 25 million
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  scares you, 60 million should scare the pajamas
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  out of you. General Manager of Growth and Infrastructure
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  and Chief Building Official Michael Noebs explained
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  why the project is needed. We need this for the
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  anticipated growth of the community. So we are
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  anticipating a significant amount of both residential,
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  commercial, and industrial growth within the
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  urban settlement area as well as modest growth
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  within the rural area. So we are anticipating
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  additional rural growth that would have the need
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  for sewage disposal through septic tank disposal.
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  So that is being planned for in the design and
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  throughout the construction of the project. Richardson
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  noted how important the future of the town is,
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  referencing all the work done in the past. There
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  can't be a Band -Aid left in this country because
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  they put them all on this wastewater treatment
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  plant to get us to where we are today. And there
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  just isn't any left. It's worn out. It needs
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  to be replaced. And again, it is our future.
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  This is the future of our municipality right
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  here. And I know it sounds really kind of strange
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  and weird that we should be excited about a wastewater
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  treatment plant, but we really should because
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  it's going to give us the future that we deserve
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  in this municipality. Noebs detailed the timeline
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  for completion. Through 2027, we would see the
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  project continue and midway through 2027 or towards
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  the end of 2027 is when the commissioning of
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  the plant would be undertaken and through 2027,
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  2028 and onward. Bringing that bringing the new
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  facility up to full operation is is the anticipated
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  timeline. NOBE spoke about the overall goals
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  of the project and the expected location. Replace
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  aging infrastructure with new enhanced treatment
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  to dramatically reduce partially treated wastewater
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  during bypass events as a result of heavy flows
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  entering the plant and to provide further growth
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  opportunities for the community through new development.
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  The new plant would be located immediately west
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  of the existing site and consists of new headworks,
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  new activated granular sludge tanks, tertiary
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  treatment UV disinfection, and an operations
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  and control building. Ultimately, we're looking
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  to increase the hydraulic capacity of the plant,
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  eliminate bypassing during peak wet weather events,
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  and to comply with the Bay of Cooney Remedial
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  Action Plan to provide for a better effluent
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  leaving the plant. Staff will also be working
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  on modernizing processes to simplify operations,
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  improve energy efficiency, and decrease life
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  cycle costs. The report noted the existing plant
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  location will become available for future expansion
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  projects when required. Nobz detailed the type
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  of growth the new plant could support. This new
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  plant would provide for the capacity up to an
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  anticipated and approximate 4 ,000 new homes
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  in addition to a mix of commercial and industrial
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  growth. And as we see this new development proceed,
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  the assessment growth of the municipality will
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  ultimately grow, which helps to provide additional
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  operating capital revenues for the municipality
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  for future planning. We have nearly 1 ,600 dwelling
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  units approved that are either in the construction
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  stage or are considered shovel ready so draft
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  plan approved, site plan approved, final plan
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  of subdivision approved and these units were
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  highlighted in our funding application to the
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  province which helped get us the amount of funding
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  that we ultimately did from the province. Of
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  the 1600 units that are approved per se we would
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  be looking at 16 years of build -out for those.
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  Only pre -qualified general contractors were
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  able to view the tender and submit a bid. For
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  a compliant submission, the report stated all
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  pre -qualified general contractors had to partner
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  with pre -qualified electrical and mechanical
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  contractors. Director of Environmental Services,
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  Kristy Kelly, explained the bids they received
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  and noted who peak construction will be working
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  with. Four out of five of the GC's submitted
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  bits and all four were compliant. In addition
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  to the general contractor work, Peak will utilize
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  internal resources for the mechanical work and
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  will be working with Sheridan Electric as their
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  electrical contractor. Kelly spoke about contingencies
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  built in and noted U .S. tariffs as a main cause.
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  There's $4 million here that is set aside for
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  tariffs. We all know... There's some uncertainties
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  with the way things are right now and a lot of
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  that pre -selected equipment is being purchased
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  from the United States. So we've allowed that
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  contingency allowance in there for such a thing.
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  Nobz explains staff's intentions with the contingencies.
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  The intent is not to use these contingencies
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  at all, but we did want to set out a plan for
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  council's awareness and for the community that
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  really was as conservative as possible to take
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  into account potential unknowns at this point.
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  Kelly explains why they couldn't choose Canadian
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  options or options from other countries besides
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  the United States. The pre -selected equipment
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  including the AGS tanks specifically and or the
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  activated granular sludge process is a United
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  States -based process. So that was purchased,
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  again, before the talks of these tariffs. We
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  had to pre -select these pieces of equipment.
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  We certainly are working to do our best to ensure
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  that, as I'm sure much of our country is to purchase
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  locally as much as possible, but a lot of these
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  items were unfortunately only available from
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  the United States. lifetime for the new plant,
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  touching on upgrades in the distant future and
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  mentioning the history of the current plant as
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  well. The existing plant, it was built in 1953.
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  It's still in operation today. The actual use
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  of it, 50 plus years is anticipated. Routine
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  maintenance will always be required, but we would
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  be talking a 50 plus year design of the building.
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  When the capacity of the plant is reached per
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  se, ultimately would depend on the rate at which
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  the municipality builds out over time. So it
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  would ultimately depend on how quickly the building
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  permits are being pulled and homes are ultimately
• 14:20
  being built. I'd say it's worth looking back
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  over the last few years, we're looking at in
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  the range of a hundred -ish units per year, ballpark.
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  It is very straightforward to add additional
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  cells. Adding additional cells onto the site
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  is not going to be a challenge. It would be a
• 14:43
  matter of doing additions to the existing footprint.
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  So it's not like we would be looking at all brand
• 14:50
  new $80 million project. Again, in the future,
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  it would be a much more modest amount to add
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  additional capacity, more or less additions onto
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  those portions of the structure as a lot of the
• 15:02
  headworks, and other buildings on th to function
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  with these ad Nobs speaks about the $ they received
• 15:12
  from the p and explains the $14 mil from the
• 15:17
  federal governmen the candidate infrastructure
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  allocation to the rural a communities infrastructure
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  s with working with our loc getting our name
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  pulled up the list to get that funding. And last
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  year, we were successful in receiving provincial
• 15:38
  funding just under $35 million. And with that,
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  it is certainly making the project feasible.
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  Without these contributions, we would not be
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  in a financial state to be able to undertake
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  this significant infrastructure project fully
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  on our own. Nobz highlighted staff's appearances
• 15:58
  at Roma conferences as a reason they received
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  the funding. I recall being with council at Roma
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  delegations and discussions with ministers prior
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  to submitting those applications and I think
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  those really helped to bring our application
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  up in the queue in the eyes of the province.
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  And I think it really helped get us to this point
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  and have a good outcome with those funding applications.
• 16:21
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
• 16:24
  Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore
• 16:27
  News. Napanee's Arts Advisory Committee is taking
• 16:38
  over Music by the River, a live music series
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  in Napanee. The committee noted they'll be scaling
• 16:43
  back to just two performances throughout 2025.
• 16:46
  Councilor and member of the Arts Advisory Committee,
• 16:48
  Bob Norrie, explained the role the committee
• 16:50
  is taking in running the event. He noted that
• 16:52
  through other venues that wouldn't affect their
• 16:54
  budget, there would be more than two performances.
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  We scaled it right back, or the thinking of it,
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  to just twice, once in July, once in August,
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  two entertainers each time. I've spoken to the
• 17:05
  sound person he's charging, the same as last
• 17:06
  year, he's been very fair, and we're looking
• 17:08
  for local talent. So we've scaled it back to
• 17:11
  just what we think is good and we're working
• 17:12
  closely with Michelle Hauser for other venues.
• 17:15
  So there will be music done there more than just
• 17:17
  twice, but that's what the group has come to.
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  The committee has partnered with a company called
• 17:21
  Harmony to look after sponsorship for the event.
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  Norrie noted the company is responsible for lining
• 17:25
  up the sponsorships while the committee pays
• 17:28
  the artists. Norrie mentioned the committee's
• 17:30
  small budget and a study they did last year to
• 17:32
  monitor attendance. We just have a small budget
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  with a limited budget for advertising as well.
• 17:37
  We did a study of how many people came last year.
• 17:40
  Appreciate those that come and the amount of
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  people it takes to set up and you need some of
• 17:45
  us there. So we just decided we're going to try
• 17:47
  it twice this year and then piggyback with what
• 17:50
  happens with Harmony. CAO Matthew Grant explained
• 17:53
  how the committee's budget works. As part of
• 17:55
  this effort, they are looking to expend a portion
• 17:58
  of their budget as yet undisclosed towards that
• 18:01
  effort. They do have $5 ,000 that has been budgeted
• 18:03
  through the town's municipal budget process.
• 18:06
  Should there be a desire for any further support
• 18:10
  from the town, that would come in the form of
• 18:12
  a recommendation from the community to council
• 18:15
  for approval such as staff time or other resources.
• 18:22
  People can come by vote. and sit and listen to
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  the music. I just think that anytime that we
• 18:28
  can promote anything around our river, that natural
• 18:32
  beauty we have in this town, we have to utilize
• 18:34
  that much more than what we are and I think we're
• 18:36
  on the right way. Come on in by boat, tie up
• 18:38
  and listen to it and it's just great. So anytime
• 18:41
  that I can help promote that, I'm all for it.
• 18:44
  Councillor Mike Schenck was hopeful the event
• 18:46
  would be able to expand again in the future,
• 18:48
  noting public input. I fully support what Bob
• 18:51
  and the Arts Committee, our advisory committee
• 18:53
  is doing. I live so close, right on the water
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  along Highway 33 in Loyalist. They have a bath
• 19:00
  every weekend. They have, and it's very well
• 19:03
  attended there. So if it's very well attended
• 19:06
  here and it's a takeoff here, we can increase
• 19:08
  those dates. You know what I mean? Because I've
• 19:10
  had some phone calls where it's saying, Jones,
• 19:11
  you know, why is there only two? Why can't there
• 19:14
  be five? Well, the committee is the one. I'm
• 19:16
  not part of that committee. I let the committee
• 19:18
  go through its process. process and go from there.
• 19:21
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
• 19:23
  Initiative, I'm Tad Evans. This is North Shore
• 19:27
  News. This has been North Shore News and Interviews.
• 19:32
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• 19:35
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