The County of Lennox and Addington (L&A) Council convened on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. The agenda included, but was not limited to, an update on the new ambulance base in Loyalist Township, high-density social housing, and the use of The Town of Greater Napanee’s facilities for encampment consultations.
Council received an informative report on the new ambulance base being constructed in Loyalist Township. Craig Jones, Chief of Emergency Services, noted this project is on schedule and that a site plan application will be submitted shortly.
The new ambulance base in Loyalist Township is to be in the Loyalist Business Park at the intersection of County Road 6 and County Road 23. One of the main goals of this new base is to improve the response time of local paramedics.
“The building will be designed as a passive structure. It will have some environmental features, and staff will be reviewing the detailed design of the building for passive technology and looking at life cycle costing,” said Jones.
Passive design features will include higher ceilings and additional windows, thereby creating better natural light while increasing heat gain through solar radiation in the winter months.
The conference room can accommodate up to 60 people and will have an adjacent kitchen area, similar to the conference rooms at the courthouse and the museum. The conference room will accommodate the entire County Management Team, as well as council, and will also act as an alternate emergency operating centre.
Paramedic staff are separated from the conference area with their own kitchen and washroom facilities. The paramedic area will also contain a fitness room, a quiet room, and a lounge room, as well as storage, locker rooms, and office space.
Meanwhile, the ambulance area will consist of three drive-through bays with an additional drive-through bay for decontamination and storage. The design allows for additional bays to be added if needed in the future.
All told, the new base will cost upwards of $7.9 million.
After hearing the details about the new build, Councillor John Wise (who also serves as the reeve of Stone Mills Township) questioned the “elaborate” design of the new base, noting it is “considerably more elaborate than the station in Stone Mills.”
This base, as Jones noted, is intended to account for the needs of the future.
“There are elements to this new building that, while maybe aren’t required today, will be in 10 years,” Jones commented.
Since September 2024, County Council has been exploring land partnerships with lower-tier municipalities to build affordable housing units. These parcels of land would be donated.
In 2025, Council included $225,000 in the budget to create up to three properties in the County as shovel-ready for social housing builds.
As per Council direction in spring of this year, County and Loyalist staff have been working together to advance the potential high-density social housing project on Church Street in Bath, according to a report.
The Church Street property is approximately 5.4 acres. Access is available on the west side off Abbey Dawn Drive, and from the east through a legal entrance off Church Street. The size of this build is proposed to be a fourplex, but the high-density social housing can go up to 60 units.
With regard to the size of the build, Councillor Terry Richardson (who also serves as mayor of Greater Napanee) voiced concern, saying, “I think we need something more substantial than four, maybe 28 or 42. I don’t think four will cut it.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Warden Jim Hegadorn (who also serves as Loyalist Township mayor) said that, based on feedback from the community, anything larger would be less well-received.
“The community this will be going into is established,” stated Hegadorn. “In this situation, probably something more moderate would be better perceived.”
When asked about the cost implications for these affordable, high-density developments, CAO Brenda Orchard noted that $75,000 was set aside for each of these projects in the budget.
Council approved a motion to develop Addington Highlands and Stone Mills properties as fourplexes that are shovel-ready for social housing. A motion was also passed to support the development of the high-density affordable housing in Loyalist Township. Greater Napanee currently has a moratorium on the sale of Town-owned lands.
Finally, with the prospect of public consultation regarding an encampment bylaw on the horizon for the County, the Town of Greater Napanee has offered that the County may use any Town facilities at no cost. Individuals or groups looking to use Town facilities are normally charged a fee to do so.