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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-04-15Samuel Wilmot Nature Area Management Advisory Committee Minutes April 15, 2025, 7:00 p.m. Room 1c Municipal Administrative Center or Microsoft Teams Present: Y/N Regrets Person Y/N Regrets Person Y Brian Reid (Past Chair) Y Leanne Fernandes Y Carmen Aiello N Yes Patrick Bothwell Y Councillor Margaret Zwart (Council Liaison) Y Tom Hossie (Vice Chair) N Yes Kate Potter (Chair) Y Rod McArthur Y Ken Mercer (Staff) Y Meg Vandenbrink Y Leah Bourgeois Y Kayla Stephens 1. Call to Order Vice Chair Tom Hossie called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. 2. Land Acknowledgement Statement Tom Hossie led the meeting with the Land Acknowledgement Statement. 3. Additions to the Agenda/Adoption of the Agenda — no additions Moved by Meg Vandenbrink, seconded by Rod McArthur that the Agenda be accepted. Carried 4. Declaration of Pecuniary Interest — There were no disclosures of interest stated at this meeting. SWNAMAC - 2 - April 15, 2025 5. Adoption of Minutes Moved by Leanne Bourgeois, seconded by Leanne Fernandes That the minutes of the meeting of March 18th, 2025, be approved with the following amendments: > correct spelling of Leanne and Carmen's last names > note that Marg Zwart had sent regrets re previous meeting > note that Leah Bourgeois WAS present at the meeting of March 18t" 2025 Carried 6. Committee Administration a. Item 1 — Selection of new Chairperson — following some discussion, it was agreed to defer this matter until our next meeting to give those not present an opportunity to provide input. In the interim, Tom Hossie will continue to serve as Acting Chair b. Item 2 — Additional members — one vacancy exists. The municipality has advertised this on its website and in the Orono Times. Ken will follow up with the Clerk's office re: deadline etc. Based on that information, Brian may post the municipal notice of vacancy on the Newcastle Facebook page and blog. 7. SWNA Workplan Lei a. Item — Bird Box Cleanout and Occupancy. Brian reported that he and Rod had installed an additional 6 birdboxes this week that were provided by Courtice Secondary School students. This brings our total to 88. Q2 a. Item — Spring Cleanup April 26t" — Meg reported that everything is proceeding as planned. Ken will arrange for supplies to be brought to the respective sites that morning. Two scout troops and one Girl Guide troop have been contacted about participating. No confirmations have yet been received. Brian advised that he has added some text to the Cleanup Poster on Facebook indicating that those helping out at the SWNA site are asked to report to the Toronto St lot at 9:45 a.m. Members of the Committee who have indicated they will attend are: Brian, Leanne, Leah, Carmen, Meg and Tom. Members are asked to arrive at 9:30 a.m. Brian advised that he would look after emptying the fishing line receptacles that day. SWNAMAC - 3 - April 15, 2025 b. Item — Pollinator Planting May 24', 2025 — funding has been received and supplier has confirmed that he can provide the plants by that date. This year, we will focus on the area disturbed by the recent watermain extension project just above the Toronto Street entrance to the waterfront trail.. Ken will liaise with the contractor responsible for the watermain extension project about the timing of its plan to hydroseed the area so that it does not conflict with our event. Brian and Ken will scout the area and mark off the zone to be planted. It was also suggested that we pre -dig holes as we have done in the past even though this area will not be as difficult to plant. This will be done during the week before the event. Brian will act as coordinator for the overall event. Leah offered to modify our previous planting event poster to reflect the new location , date etc. and arrange for it to be posted on the community calendar. Brian will post it to Facebook and the blog, Tom to Twitter. Hard copies will be placed at the parking lot entrances and on the new signage if it is installed in time ( see item below) Brian will act as Coordinator for this event C. Item — Tree Identification Hike — date has been confirmed as June 21st starting at 10 a.m. and will be approximately one hour in duration. GRCA representative Gus Sauer and Municipal arborist Jeff Delorey will be our "guides". Leah offered to design a poster which will be distributed as per the above section. She will also set up an Eventbrite registration so we can obtain an indication of interest and correspond with participants in the event of cancellation or rain. Members who indicated they will be present are: Brian, Leah, Marg, Rod, Leanne and Carmen. Tom will send out an email to those not present at this evening's meeting to determine their availability. Q3 a. Moth Week — July 19-27. 2025 b. Monarch Tagging — September 13/20t", 2025 — tags have been ordered Both of these projects are on track . Further details and planning will be addressed in future meetings. Q4 a. Photo Contest — Tom will communicate directly with Kayla for an update on this project b. Fall cleanup — planning and discussion deferred to future meetings c. Christmas Bird Count — Brian reported that he had spoken with a representative of Orono Crown Lands who had indicated they would be happy to have us include the Crown Lands in the count this year. Brian will discuss with the Regional coordinator SWNAMAC - 4 - April 15, 2025 8. External Projects a. Update on hydroseeding of disturbed area along Toronto Street — Ken will follow up with the contractor this week to ensure that there are no conflicts with our pollinator planting project in the same area. 9. Other Business a. Letter of appreciation to Leo Blindenbach - this has been hand -delivered to Leo. b. Bylaw enforcement— Tom connected with bylaw officers regarding fiddleheads, off -leash dogs, angler waste, and beach campfires. Although we have not received specific information about any violations etc., the presence of by law enforcement personnel at SWNA has been noted. The Committee is appreciative and will continue to liaise with the department. c. Temporary fiddlehead signage — Ken has acquired these and will endeavour to have them placed asap. Brian offered to accompany him on a walk - through to identify locations. d. New trailhead signs — Ken reported that these too have been acquired and hopefully will be installed prior to our first spring event. Priority will be given to the one slated for Toronto Street e. Renewal of OPG Operating Licence — Darlington: information has been received concerning the above. Organizations such as ours may submit comments should they choose to do so. The committee was in general agreement about preparing a letter of support given the extensive support OPG has given to our various projects and initiatives over the years. Tom will contact those members not present to obtain their thoughts. It was noted that the deadline for comments is May 8th f. Round Table — Ken — some minor tree removal will be taking place soon within the SWNA Brian — happy to see everything "coming back to life" at this time of year Meg — still enjoying daily walks through the area Tom — Excitedly anticipating the spring ephemeral flowers to emerge Carmen — asked about all of the trees and shrubs that have been planted just east and south of the Memorial Forest. Brian and Ken advised that these had been planted last fall by a developer who had been required to compensate the municipality for having removed a number of butternut trees several years ago at a different site. The problem is that no notification had been given that this was to be done to allow for input from our committee. It is also questionable whether any of the trees are actually butternut. SWNAMAC - 5 - April 15, 2025 10. Date Of Next Meeting - The next meeting of the Committee is scheduled to be held on May 20t", 2025, commencing at 7.00 p.m. Location TBD. Probably a hybrid meeting based at the Municipal meeting. 8. Adjournment Moved by Leanne Fernandes, seconded by Meg Vandenbrink that the meeting adjourn at 8.45 p.m. Carried