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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-11-12 Minutes Draft minutes – Not yet approved by Committee NOTES OF MEETING OF SAMUEL WILMOT NATURE AREA MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE HELD TUESDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2013 7:00PM Present: (Voting) Melanie McArthur Brian Reid (Chair) Jim Cleland Karin Murphy Bonnie Seto Kate Potter Councillor Corinna Traill Leo Blindenbach Regrets: Michael Goleski Suzanne Land Geoff James Absent Greg Wells – GRCA 1. Agenda Acceptance of Agenda MOVED : by Kate Potter SECONDED by Karin Murphy THAT : the agenda for December 10, 2013 be accepted CARRIED 2. Minutes of November 12, 2013 Approval of Minutes MOVED:SECONDED by Melanie McArthur, by Kate Potter THAT: the minutes of November 12th be approved. CARRIED SWNA December 2013 Minutes 2 3. Items/Updates New SWNA committee member Leo Blindenbach Leo Blindenbach was appointed by Council as the new SWNA committee member. Leo has lived in the Port of Newcastle for the past 3 years. His professional background is in Club Management. He has also has extensive experience as a volunteer on numerous committees. Jim Boate-Bike Friendly Clarington The Engineering Department is recommending a trail improvement project in the 2014 Capital Budget to reduce a 29% slope on the Waterfront Trail just east of the pedestrian bridge. This section of trail has been identified by the Bike Friendly committee as a problem spot for cyclists for many years. At the November meeting there was a discussion about the merits of this project. The committee requested a representative from the cycling community to explain the need for the project. Jim Boate a representative from the Bike Friendly Committee and the Beech Street Spinners Cycling club attended the meeting. Jim began with a brief history of the Waterfront Trail and explained how the trail has grown from its initial inception to a trail that now stretches from the Detroit River to the Quebec border along the north shore of both Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The Waterfront Trail is used for recreation, transportation, and special events such as cycling tours and the Ragnar Relay series. He also described some of the gaps that have existed along the trail. Many of those gaps have now been filled but individual problem spots still exist. Jim explained that cycling blogs and websites have flagged the SWNA section of trail as an area to avoid due to the steep hill east of the bridge. In order to detour around this section of the trail cyclists also by-pass some of Clarington’s best sections of Waterfront Trail. The steep hill on the SWNA portion of the Waterfront Trail was first investigated in 2009 when a survey plan and preliminary design plan were developed to reduce the slope to a 10% grade by re-aligning the trail so that it traverses the slope. Some committee members asked if there was enough benefit to justify the cost of the project. P. Windolf explained that staff is recommending this project be included in the 2014 Capital Budget for several reasons. The existing slope is difficult for both cyclists and hikers to climb and descend. The excessive slope results in erosion of the trail surface which creates a potential hazard. This project would remove the trail from the Hydro One corridor. The municipality currently pays half the annual reality taxes for that section of corridor because a portion of the trail is located on it. Once the existing agreement with Hydro One expires the annual payment would not be required. SWNA December 2013 Minutes 3 If the project is approved in the 2014 budget the committee would like to see the existing trail restored with vegetation, and the low/wet section of the trail west of the hill repaired at the same time. SWNA Photo Contest Councillor Traill reported that the Visual Arts Centre has agreed to host the photo exhibition again this year. The exhibition will run from Thursday May 15 to Sunday May 18. The awards presentation will be on the opening night of the exhibition. The committee discussed potential changes to the categories for this year but agreed that there should continue to be a Youth category. Some suggested categories included, Water, and the Colours of Wilmot. The sub-committee established for the contest (Kate, Mike, Karin and Melanie) will discuss the categories and present them at a future meeting. Councillor Traill will try to find a sponsor for this year’s event since last year’s sponsor Hunters Foto Source has moved out of Clarington. Martin House Cleaning The Martin House installed in 2007 with the assistance of Hydro One is in need of cleaning. Jamie Bignell from Hydro One was contacted and he will investigate if a bucket truck can access the Martin House to remove and clean it. Brian Reid has not been able to locate the person from the Wilmot Woodworkers Club who built the Martin House but will try to get his contact information through former member Pat Mulcahy. A site inspection to determine if it has a removable panel for cleaning may be required. Since the Martin House is about 5m off the ground, binoculars will probably be required to determine if it has a removable panel. Reptiles at Risk Workshop At the November meeting one of the Special Events suggested for 2014 was an educational presentation featuring native reptiles. Brian Reid and Karin Murphy attended a November workshop hosted by the GRCA called Reptiles at Risk. The workshop focused on endangered native reptiles and included a hands-on training program featuring live Ontario reptiles. Reptiles at Risk was contacted to see if they could do a similar presentation at the SWNA in June. They are interested but they do not get confirmation of their funding until late in the spring so we will check back with them at that time. Winter Meeting Schedule The committee discussed the schedule for meetings this winter. SWNA December 2013 Minutes 4 no SWNA meeting in January or March It was decided that there would be . The Photo Contest sub-committee can still meet on an as needed basis. Leo and Melanie indicated they will not be able to attend the February meeting. 5. Motion to Adjourn MOVED: THAT: by Leo Blindenbach, SECONDED by Kate Potter the meeting be adjourned. CARRIED Adjournment: 8:30 P.M. Next Meeting: Tuesday February 11, 7:00PM Room 1A Notes prepared by: P. Windolf