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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-10-13Rom Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington Meeting Thursday, October 13, 2022 Members Present: Eric Bowman Jordan McKay John Cartwright Tom Barrie Henry Zekveld Brenda Metcalf Jennifer Knox Mitch Morawetz Ben Eastman Regrets: Don Rickard, Ryan Cullen, Councillor Zwart Staff: Amy Burke, Sylvia Jennings - Planning & Infrastructure Services Department Guests: Slav Potrykus, Brett Novak — Public Works Department Observers: Allison De Vos, Invest Durham Participation in the meeting was either in person at the Municipal Administrative Centre or online (via MSTeams). Eric welcomed all to the meeting. Declarations of Interest None Adoption of Agenda 022-019 Moved by Brenda Metcalf, seconded by Ben Eastman That the Agenda for October 13, 2022, be adopted. Carried Approval of Minutes 022-020 Moved by John Cartwright, seconded by Tom Barrie That the minutes of the August 25, 2022, meeting be approved. Carried Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington October 13, 2022 Presentations Public Works Department Update: Slav Potrykus, Traffic Supervisor for the Public Works Department, provided an update concerning the truck prohibition in Solina. Dump truck traffic has increased on Concession Rd 6 near Solina because of major development in Oshawa. As a result, the Municipality banned heavy trucks between Townline Rd and 57. Since then, the Durham Region Police Services (DRPS) has stopped many trucks and issued fines or warnings. The DRPS says that this ban is not intended to affect agricultural related trucks, and none have been ticketed although they might have been stopped. Also in Solina, a temporary speed cushion and red flashing beacons at the stop signs have been added. The speed cushion received many complaints and has been taken out for the winter. The Municipality is also reviewing a request to add wider shoulders and an all way stop to Solina to better connect to the park. Excessive signage near the 407 was brought up as a concern. Slav explained that this was out of municipal jurisdiction and was unlikely to change quickly. Brett Novak, Manager of Operations, Public Works , provided an update on ditch and resurfacing work done in previous years. They're currently winding down operations but are reviewing the list for next year. He explained that there is currently a large backlog of ditch and drainage issues. The equipment that the Municipality uses is quite old while the cost of new equipment is significant. The Rural Roads Resurfacing Program plans to change to couple ditch repair with all rural road resurfacing projects performed by an outside contractor. This would mean that they would only have capacity to resurface approximately 50% compared to previous years, but that the amount of ditch repair completed annually would increase. Over the last 3 years, nearly 40km of roads have been resurfaced each year, which is a significant increase from years prior. The Municipality spent $120,000 on tree work this year, plus $310,000 on tree cleanup after the storm in the summer. The overhanging trees that the Committee brought up at the August 25t" meeting have been noted. Update on the Avian Influenza Outbreak: Committee member Brenda Metcalf from Almet Farms Ltd., provided an overview of the effects of Avian Flu and how outbreaks are handled. The avian flu is the H5N1 virus. The last outbreak in Clarington was in 2015. This year's strain seems particularly strong. It's primarily spread through waterfowl. Chickens are particularly vulnerable because they lack a gene that helps their immune system fight the disease. Typically, the virus will spread through an entire flock. It can only be confirmed through a lab test. Once a flock tests positive, a 10km radius is set up by the Feather Board Command Centre and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). They will rapidly detect and report cases, coordinate prevention, contain and eradicate the spread, and assist with recovery. Nearby farmers will monitor their livestock and watch for wind patterns. An outbreak is very costly (i.e hundreds of thousands of dollars) since replacing a flock is expensive and takes time. It can be 1 to 2 years before an infected barn is back up to regular production. This leads to a loss of eggs and eggs will need to be sourced from elsewhere. To minimize risk, farms can: create a controlled access zone, use specific barn shores, enhanced protocols for cleaning and disinfecting, and increase practices when there is Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington October 13, 2022 a heightened risk of Avian Flu. In the event of an infection, all birds will be euthanized, a cleaning and disinfecting protocol is carried out, and the CFIA will decide when it is safe to add a new flock. The Committee discussed how insurance can support loss of production resulting from an Avian Flu outbreak Delegations None Business Arising from Minutes None Correspondence, Council Items and Referrals None Liaison Reports Durham Agriculture Advisory Committee: October meeting cancelled. Next meeting scheduled for November 8, 2022. Durham Region Federation of Agriculture: The Durham Region Federation of Agriculture annual meeting and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture regional meeting are on October 18, 2022, at the Blackstock United Church. Reception is at 7:30pm with the meeting at 8:00pm. It will cover farmland trust, OMAFRA, OFA, Durham Region updates, financial statements, and election for director and policy advisory councillors. Delegates from Durham Region to the OFA will also be elected. DRFA continues to follow Envision Durham and awaits the release of proposed settlement boundary expansions. Durham Farm Connections: The 2022 Celebrate Agriculture Gala will be on October 27 at the Scugog Community Centre in Port Perry. There will be a market area with local foods and silent and live auctions that will raise money for education programs. Clarington Board of Trade: An agriculture -sector focused survey is being developed as part of CBOT's Business Retention & Expansion project. Committee members, Eric Bowman and Brenda Metcalf participated in a survey planning session hosted by CBOT to ensure relevance of the survey to agricultural business owners and operators. New Business Clarington Waterfront Strategy: Amy provided an update on the visioning workshop that occurred as part of the initial engagement process. There were about 20 attendees who were a mix of ratepayers, interest groups and advisory committee representatives. They identified many opportunities and challenges. Committee members are encouraged to provide input from an agricultural or personal perspective at any time. A visioning survey will be released this fall, available on the project webpage — www.clarington.net/WaterfrontStrategy. Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington October 13, 2022 2023 — 2026 Advisory Committee Applications: Applications for all advisory committee applications begins November 1st and are due December 2nd. Final appointments will be made in February 2023. Committee vacancies and details on the application and selection process will be available on the Municipal website at www.clarinaton.net/en/town-hall/advisorv-committees-and-boards.aSDX. Clarington Food Bank: Henry proposed that the Clarington East Food Bank be invited to present to the Committee. He noted that the demand for their services is up since the COVID-19 pandemic and that agriculture can be and should be a part of the growing need for food security in communities. John Cartwright moved to adjourn. Next Meeting November 10, 2022 @ 7:30 pm (Hybrid format) Municipal Administrative Centre, 40 Temperance Street, Bowmanville, Meeting Room 1 C or virtual via MS Teams Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington October 13, 2022