HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-09-13 Minutes
Draft minutes – Not yet approved by Committee
NOTES OF MEETING OF
SAMUEL WILMOT NATURE AREA
MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
HELD TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2016
7:00 PM
Present: Suzanne Land Leo Blindenbach
Jim Cleland Brian Reid
Melanie McArthur Councillor Corinna Traill
Dyan Amirault
Regrets: Kate Potter Patrick Bothwell
Paul Davidson James Hodge
1. AGENDA
MOVED: by Suzanne Land SECONDED by Leo Blindenbach
THAT: the agenda for September 13, 2016 be accepted
CARRIED
2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
Approval of Minutes
MOVED: by Melanie McArthur SECONDED by Leo Blindenbach
THAT : the minutes of June 14, 2016 be approved.
CARRIED
SWNA September 2016 Minutes 2
3. ITEMS/UPDATES
Highway of Hero’s Tribute Planting
The intent of the program is to plant 117,000 trees in the next 4 years along the
Highway of Heroes – one tree for each of Canada’s war dead since Confederation.
The SWNA falls within the 1km corridor and would be eligible for trees as part of the
program. A meeting was held for stakeholders to learn more about the program and
Leo Blindenbach represented the SWNA committee at the meeting. The HOH
Tribute planting program will provide native trees of various sizes and recruit
volunteers for planting projects. The HOH program is encouraging communities to
plant on and around Remembrance Day.
The committee decided that Saturday November 5 would be the best day and the
number of trees would depend on the plant size and the number of volunteers
available.
P. Windolf will follow up with the HOH Program director to confirm the date and
number of trees.
2016 Trail Construction Project
At a previous meeting Peter Windolf presented the plans showing the proposed trail
alignment and bridge crossing location for the new woodland trail that will connect
the Waterfront Trail to the existing trail along the north side of the sewage treatment
plant.
The project has been awarded to R&M Construction a company who has
undertaken several projects for the Municipality in the past. The deadline for
completion is June 15, 2017. A construction schedule has not been received yet
however they intend to do the clearing and grading through the fall and winter and
the creek bank stabilization and bridge installation in the spring.
The construction of a new trunk sewer along Toronto Street has started and is
expected to be completed by Jan 2017. This work required a re-routing of the
Waterfront Trail east of the SWNA but will not impact the trail at the SWNA until
later in the project. The trail at Toronto Street may need to be closed for a brief
duration (2 or 3 days) in December when a new sewer pipe is installed immediately
adjacent to the trail.
Clarke High School Community Outreach projects
The parent council at Clarke High School is interested in increasing the visibility and
promoting a positive image of the school. Catherine Bothwell a member of the
parent council contacted the municipality with an offer help with community projects.
The SWNA Committee considered the offer at the June 2016 meeting and
suggested several potential projects. The projects the committee would like to
pursue further with the school are;
SWNA September 2016 Minutes 3
- designing and painting SWNA garage containers
- building bird houses
-creating tree identification labels
Following the June meeting P. Windolf contacted Catherine Bothwell who confirmed
with the Construction teacher that they are willing to build bird boxes and tree
identification labels if they are provided the design. She will follow up with the art
teacher this fall to see if they are interested in painting garbage containers.
Bill Bickle Wildlife Photography presentation
The event is scheduled for Sunday November 6 at the Newcastle and District
Recreation Complex. Brian Reid will check the meeting room to ensure the
equipment in the meeting room is adequate for the event.
By-Law and Fishing Issues
The By-law Enforcement Division was informed that cars were parking on some
trails at the SWNA and that illegal overnight camping was occurring. By-Law
confirmed they will have their officers monitor the area for infractions.
Illegal netting of fish at the mouth of the creek was also observed by some SWNA
users. This concern was passed on to the MNR Conservation Officer and the
GRCA.
Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-up recap
Jenni McNish a Hampton resident registered and organized a clean-up at the
SWNA. This is a Canada wide event that encourages citizens to clean up the
shorelines of lakes and rivers around the country.
A small but enthusiastic group of volunteers participated on September 9.
Operations Department provided the bags and gloves for the clean-up. As per the
GCS Clean-up protocol a detailed inventory of the litter was taken, which Leo
Blindenbach conveyed to the committee.
Newcastle Fall Festival
Brian Reid reminded members that the Newcastle Fall Festival is scheduled for
Saturday October 1. The SWNA will have a tent and a booth to hand out
promotional material for the SWNA. The committee discussed ways of bringing
more traffic to the SWNA booth. Suzanne Land will follow up with Jackie’s Critters
to see if they are interested in bringing some of the critters to the event.
SWNA September 2016 Minutes 4
Fall Clean-up and Bird House Cleaning
At the end of each fishing season the committee organizes a site clean-up. It is
scheduled for Saturday October 29 at 9:00AM at the Toronto Street Parking lot. The
anglers group who have participated in the past will also be invited to attend.
In conjunction with the clean-up the bird houses will be cleaned out. Rather that
removing, cleaning and storing the bird boxes they will be cleaned on -site and left
in place over the winter.
4. OTHER BUSINESS
Councillor Trail relayed a resident concern about vehicles driving on the Lake
Meadow Trail from the Cobbledick Parking lot. Apparently a van drove down the
trail and almost struck the resident. There is usually a large rock that blocks the trail
from vehicular access but it may have been moved. Operations Department has
been asked to investigate and re-instate the barrier.
5. MOTION TO ADJOURN
MOVED: by Melanie McArthur SECONDED by Suzanne Land
THAT: the meeting be adjourned.
CARRIED
Adjournment 8:15 PM
Next Meeting: Tuesday October 11, 7:00PM
Notes prepared by: P.Windolf