Latest / North Shore News / February 5th, 2025

Transcript

February 5th, 2025 · North Shore News

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  Welcome to North Shore News and Interviews on Amherst Island Radio.
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  Each week we keep you updated on newsworthy events, happenings, and conversations that
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  we've had with people in the local community and beyond.
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  Employ lists Township Council approved just over $500,000 in additional funding for the
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  Odessa West Reconstruction Project.
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  Staff came to Council stating they were 10% over budget due in part to additional costs
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  brought forth by a mistake in the process.
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  Engineering and Environment Manager Luke McDonald noted the difference in their original projected
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  costs.
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  The additional budget that we're requesting is about 10% of the total approved budget to
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  date.
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  I would state we're 10% over budget.
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  I've attributed this overage to a number of factors including additional work needed
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  on West Street, relocating utility hookups due to a mistake, and extra staffing costs.
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  Improperly marked field locates for the gas mains during the design phase of the project
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  led to nearly $165,000 in extra costs.
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  McDonald explained how this affected the budget for the project.
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  He also confirmed that this was not related to the gas leak that took place in Odessa
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  in October.
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  The gas leak was on a separate project from this one.
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  The improperly marked locates led to a conflict with some of our other buried infrastructure
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  that we were planning, so additional gas relocations occurred, which increased the cost of this
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  project.
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  McDonald explained, however, that the Township would only be covering a portion of the costs
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  incurred by the mistake.
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  Our franchise agreement with Enbridge states that any relocations that need to occur within
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  the right of way, the Township is responsible for paying 30% of the costs, which is where
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  those numbers have come from.
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  McDonald details the extra work needed on West Street.
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  During the work when we were doing, we had not intended to reconstruct that portion of
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  West Street between Main and South, but because of the difficulties we ran into with the
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  Series A water main pipe, it was determined that that work had to proceed.
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  Council approved funding the increased costs from a mix of debt financing and pulling from
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  respective reserve funds.
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  North noted, however, that there currently isn't any money in the reserve funds.
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  Treasurer Shelly Steadall explains the process they'll be taking going forward.
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  There is no money at this point in time from the reserves.
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  We're trying to finalize and close out some projects so there's possibility that there
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  could be some money in the reserve, but at this point in time, it's all debt financed,
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  and then we'll be bringing a report back to council that's going to show exactly what
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  those amounts are.
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  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
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  This is North Shore News.
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  Loyalist Township Council approved staff using $25,000 from the Fleet and Equipment Reserve
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  Fund to assess the condition of the township's fleet of vehicles.
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  Council approved staff to seek an external consultant for a detailed review of the township's
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  fleet condition and needs, as well as a replacement strategy and an evaluation of their leasing
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  system.
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  Along with a review of existing systems, processes, and policies, staff will be looking
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  into fleet modernization as well.
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  They'll be considering green alternatives for future replacements and additions.
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  Staff plan to use the results of the study as a planning and guidance tool going forward.
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  Deputy Mayor Nathan Townen describes the importance of getting the study underway.
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  I think this is timely and good to do.
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  Having just gone through budget processes, a lot of what the public sees are the fleet
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  that we have on the road, and there's always comments about that.
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  I think this will serve us to have a strategic approach to our fleet.
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  Mayor Jim Hagedore noted the importance of a new strategy going forward.
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  I'm glad to see this coming forward.
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  We have looked at different strategies.
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  We've tried some.
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  Now it's a good time to find out what's working and what's not, and where we should go in
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  the future.
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  I think it's very prudent planning.
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  The study would also review the pilot enterprise vehicle leasing program to determine if it
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  should continue in its current form.
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  This program includes 13 light duty vehicles.
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  Director of Community and Customer Services, Lori McFarland, describes how the data from
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  the survey will help them going forward.
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  It'll be a look at what's happening right now.
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  It'll feed into the asset management plan, but as part of it, it'll be recommending
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  different strategies for replacement, and we'll incorporate that into the asset management
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  plan and how we move forward.
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  This work was determined to be a priority for early this year because the data is required
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  for the township to start preparing for its long range financial plan and 2025 updated
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  asset management plan.
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  Project funding was not included in the 2025 budget as it was originally due to be completed
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  in the last quarter of 2024.
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  Due to competing priorities and reduced staffing levels, this did not occur.
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  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
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  This is North Shore News.
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  Rock underneath the ground alongside Front Road on Amherst Island is posing a problem
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  for the company looking to bring high speed internet to residents of the island.
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  With upcoming construction set to take place on the road, it leaves the company no room
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  to dig or plow.
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  Explorers municipal and utility access relations specialist Tracy Shalifoo noted the importance
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  of the connection along the road and outlined where the company stands on the project.
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  It's just one street, but it does provide us connectivity with the rest of the island.
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  We have worked with the engineering and planning department.
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  We've spoken to the CAO and her team and as well the roads public works department to
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  try and find a way, but we're still back at the point where we don't have a solution as
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  to how to build on that street.
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  Shalifoo described the construction process the company was hoping to set in motion.
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  It's always going to include the construction methods that all ISPs use.
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  I think the number one method is plowing.
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  We'd like to plow in next to the road.
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  It's typically the space that's available, but in this particular case it's not because
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  of rock.
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  The company also looks into being able to use space on existing bell and hydro one poles,
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  but in this case it was not possible due to the amount of extra work the companies would
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  have to do in order for Explore to use them as well.
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  Shalifoo noted that the poles won't work and again mentioned the problem they're facing
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  underground.
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  We've applied to both to get onto their poles.
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  There's too much make ready work required for hydro one and the bell poles can't accommodate
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  us.
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  So we're left with going underground, which we can't do because of the rock.
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  And so now we have a real problem.
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  The scope of Ontario's accelerated high speed internet program includes 75,000 homes.
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  Shalifoo explains the significance of the program and the project Explore is working
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  on for Amherst Island.
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  It's really so rural that it doesn't make business sense for a company or an ISP like
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  Explore, Rogers or Bell to go and spend $20,000 to go down a road to go up three homes.
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  And so that is the whole purpose behind this project to make it feasible from a business
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  perspective to go and connect those homes.
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  Shalifoo describes where the need for the program came from, noting the funding that
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  the government has provided as well as the deadlines they're facing.
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  I think during COVID, there was a lot of outages and lag times and internet service providers
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  going down just too much demand to people working from home and it didn't work.
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  So problems came up with an initiative to connect the most rural parts of these communities.
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  The accelerated high speed internet program as presented by the province, they provided
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  funding of $4 billion to bring access to reliable high speed internet.
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  So what that looks like from our perspective is we will build this project using our own
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  money, our portion of it, and the province will reimburse us once we've met the criteria
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  that they have, which is to be on time and on budget by December of this year.
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  So we're kind of on the clock with every portion of this bill, including Loyalists,
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  Amherst Island and Instella.
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  The Ontario government also passed the Ontario Connected Act in 2022 to help facilitate getting
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  the program underway.
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  Shalifu explained that the government helped them identify homes that need high speed internet
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  as well as ones the company would need to bring the service to themselves without being
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  eligible for funding.
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  Shalifu referred to these homes as go it alone homes.
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  The government undertook an initiative to find out which homes in rural Ontario don't
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  have basic high speed, which is 50 10 service.
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  They have identified for us which are the homes that don't and they've given us a map
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  identifying the homes.
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  And so our engineers go out and design this project to try and run fiber down streets
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  or on poles to get to these asap eligible homes.
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  Now the go it alone homes, the money spent to connect these homes will be will be our
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  money and there will be no subsidy applied to these homes.
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  We will spend our own money with the hopes that we'll get a customer out of that one
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  day.
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  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
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  This is North Shore News.
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  Tours of the Fairfield Gutside House will include a small fee starting in May.
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  Fees for the vendors market at Bath's Canada Day event have also gone up.
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  Council approved a number of new fees this week.
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  Starting May 15th, there will be a new $3 admission fee for tours of the Fairfield Gutside
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  House.
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  There will also be a new $3 admission fee for the Culture Talks Speaker Series at the
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  Bath Museum.
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  The vendor fees for Bath's Canada Day celebration have gone up from $50 to $75 per booth.
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  The motion also included the introduction of gift shops at the Bath Museum, Babcock
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  Mill and Fairfield Gutside House.
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  Township staff estimate a total of $3,000 in revenue this year from upping the vendor
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  fees at Bath's Canada Day event.
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  The new fees for museum tours and the Culture Talks Speaker Series are estimated to bring
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  in just over $1,700 in revenue for 2025.
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  The new gift shops are expected to see a total of $300 in revenue for the year.
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  Director of Community and Customer Services Laurie McFarland describes the importance
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  of the fees.
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  As we come up with our master plan and some of the guidance that's coming through that,
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  we anticipate that this will grow so it is worth it.
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  It also gives us an avenue that right now we currently don't have anything where we
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  can charge for these things so this gives us an avenue as well for the gift shop for
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  different things that we want to so it is definitely beneficial.
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  Councillor Paul Proderick wondered if the introduction of admissions would decrease
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  participation.
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  McFarland noted it's something staff are looking at.
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  We will be monitoring it closely to see the impacts.
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  Our hope is that it won't be impacted that much and that's partially why we're trying
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  to keep it minimal as well.
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  For museum tours and the speaker series, children 13 years of age and under will still remain
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  free of charge.
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  There will also be no charge during the Township's annual Doors Open event, Bath Canada Day,
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  the Fall in Love with Bath event, and Bath's Merry Little Main Street event.
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  The gift shops will mainly feature items that share loyalist Township's history including
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  books, postcards, games, and souvenirs.
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  Specific fees and prices for gift shop items will be determined on a case by case basis.
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  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
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  This is North Shore News.
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  Loyalist Township has announced that their Family Day event for 2025 will be taking place
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  at the W. J. Henderson Recreation Center.
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  As reconstruction is still underway in the aquatic area, the event will be taking place
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  mainly in the arena, library, and parking lot.
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  The event lasts from noon until 2 p.m. and is free to attend.
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  Public skating will be open for the duration of the event, with ice resurfacing taking
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  place midway through.
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  The skating portion is sponsored by Lorna Willis and Lynn Wimminga.
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  Councillor Paul Prater speaks about some of the potential highlights from the day.
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  The canteen is going to be open and at that time we also hope that some of the Amherst
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  U Jets will join the people who wish to participate in that.
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  And in the parking lot, we're going to have the Loyalist Emergency Services Truck, which
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  is always a popular activity for the young ones to get a look at it and go through it.
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  Project lists some of the other activities taking place at the event and offers a note
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  to residents.
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  We've got a LEGO station, a coloring station, some temporary tattoos, maybe a bouncy cancel,
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  and just dance, and then a photo booth from Photo Booth Kingston will be there.
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  I hope you can join us at the W. J. Recreation Center and maybe take away a little bit of
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  the winter blouse.
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  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Tat Evans.
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  This is North Shore News.
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