MINUTES
TORBAY ENVIRONMENT & TRAILS COMMITTEE MEETING
Wednesday, June 25, 2003, 7:30pm, Kinsmen Centre
Present: Shirley Thorne Peggy Manning Madeleine Florent
Bob Codner Mike Byrne Francis Thorne
Sara Beaumont Michele DuRand Harvey Best
Peggy Roche Marion Crowley Danny Gosse
Bob Webber Natasha Bradbury Bill Moores
Annette Stapenhorst Derreck Staubitzer Debbie Hussey
NB: Also present were approximately 50 residents who attended the presentation on water and sewer services.
The meeting began with an audio-visual presentation by Mr. Staubitzer outlining his concerns about water and sewer plans for Patrick's Path. His concerns covered a number of areas including costs of the services, future development implications, the town's water supply, the environmental impact of the construction, communications with residents and long-term implications for the area. Mayor Codner spoke on behalf of the town responding to the concerns expressed and explaining development procedures followed by the town and future plans for the town's water supply. Mr. Codner indicated that 82% of residents on Patrick's Path had indicated they were in favour of services being installed. The presentations were followed by a question and answer period during which residents had the opportunity to ask questions and voice their opinions. There was some concern regarding the high cost of hook-up for existing residents and Mayor Codner agreed to bring this back to Council for reconsideration.
The presentation and discussion about water and sewer services ended at 8:50pm. The regular part of the meeting began with approval of the agenda.
The minutes of the May 28 meeting were approved.
4.1 TETC Web Site: email addresses do not need to be put in the guest book so visitors to the site should not put them if they do not want them displayed in the guest book.
4.2 Spring Newsletter: the TETC newsletter went to the Post Office today.
4.3 SAM Meeting: Mike, Shirley and their spouses attended the SAM meeting in Springdale. The minutes will be available for the next meeting. An audit/evaluation of EHJV is under way and a report will be available in the fall. SAM is looking at developing its own logo. The next SAM meeting will be in Gambo.
4.4 Newfoundland & Labrador Environmental Awards: the two schools jointly won the Award in the school category for their efforts to preserve the Gully.
4.5 Flood Risk Assessment Survey: Torbay has been selected as one of three sites that will be part of a flood risk assessment survey being carried out by the province through MUN.
4.6 East Coast Trail Association/Northern Section: The ECTA is currently undertaking an economic impact study of the trail which is needed before they can obtain any more major federal funding. As a result, there will probably not be any major work undertaken on the northern section of the trail for at least a year except for some work that will be carried out this summer by volunteers with the Sierra Club.
Madeleine gave a brief update on activities, beginning with Ken's departure at the end of the month and the hiring of Andy Hennebury as new Project Coordinator. Phase 2 officially began on May 1 and with the decrease in our budget by ECOACTION we will need to raise approximately $6,000 to cover the costs of materials for the outdoor classrooms.
Plans are under way to hold the official unveiling of the Gully signs on July 10 with the event being covered by NTV news. The exact location of the sign on Torbay Road still needs to be decided and we may need some volunteers to assist in site preparation. If this is the case, Madeleine will email members. Invitations to the Town Council, TETC members, our MHA, the schools, our Green Team, and major supporters will be sent as soon as plans have been finalized.
Harvey reported that one student had been hired who would work with Dr. Simms and a lab technician. MUN did not get approval for a second student this year.
Plans are going ahead for the TETC's participation in this year's festival. A meeting of the sub-committee for this event (Madeleine, Myra, Natasha, Harvey) will take place on July 8 at 7:30pm at the Kinsmen Centre office. There will be no booth fee this year for town committees but entry fees will be charged. To compensate for this, the TETC will offer free food to its volunteers. There will not be parking available on the grounds to booth participants but we will be able to unload prior to the festival opening.
There will be a 'walkabout' of past winners on July 6 at 1pm. Nomination forms are available at the town office or nominations may be made by email or by phone.
Peggy will arrange to have a notice placed on the town sign. Mike will confirm that the $500 tax rebate can be broken up again this year among the winners. The committee is looking for donations of prizes for the award night.
No hikes were planned.
The next meeting was tentatively set for August27. Depending on the items for discussion, we might postpone meeting until September.