MINUTES
TORBAY ENVIRONMENT & TRAILS COMMITTEE MEETING
Wednesday, June 30, 2004, 7:30pm, Kinsmen Centre
Present: Peggy Manning Mike Byrne
Madeleine Florent Kay Codner
Agenda approved.
The minutes of the last meeting were approved. Madeleine reported that the visit to Forest Landing was scheduled to take place today.
Phase 3 will begin on July 1 and end June 30, 2005. Due to the limited funds approved by EcoAction, the town has agreed to cover the shortfall in salary should we not be successful at obtaining funds elsewhere. The last few months of the project have seen phenomenal support from the schools. Construction of the HTES outdoor classroom is continuing with the help of a labourer funded through the Capital Coast Development Alliance. Plans for the structure at HTHS are being worked on. A letter to Jack Byrne will be sent seeking his help in getting the fencing done along the Board property. We should also approach Norm Doyle and Mike will mention to his assistant, Tom Fitzpatrick, that we would like an opportunity to make a presentation.
Plans are being made for a visit by the EcoAction Regional Director on July 16. Mark McCullough of Ducks Unlimited visited the Gully recently to gather the information needed to design the water control structure. We expect the culverts to be replaced on Torbay Road in late August or early September; we will be asking Ken to liaise on this to ensure a fish-friendly structure is installed. We have received a grant of $750 from the Toronto-Dominion Bank to purchase educational material on insects. We have yet to hear back on our applications for funding under Environmental Damages or the One-Ton Challenge.
The Trail Mapping Committee met last night to look at which trails we want to highlight and to map out a back-country 'loop' around the town. Over the next few weeks, volunteers will be walking the trails to obtain the descriptive details of each trail segment, ie. ground cover, width, etc, based on accepted standards. If this work is completed in time, we should be ready to produce a map by the fall.
The awards will take place on August 25. Deadline for nominations is July 9 and preliminary
judging will take place around July 18. Marian will fax a copy of the application form to the town and request that a notice be placed on the town sign soon. Peggy will do a short notice for the TETC and town web sites and provide it to Michelle and Tina. The sub-committee plans to visit new developments, Pineridge and Forest Landing, next week to see the properties there.
We will prepare a letter to the Joint Council supporting better enforcement, better training and education, a more effective licensing system (eg licence number on tires), limiting driver age to 16 and over, and the confiscation of bikes upon infractions.
Motor boats have been reported on Three Island Pond three times in the last couple of weeks. At least one of the parties was from out of town. Council will be putting up signs advising the public of the restrictions on this critical conservation area.
Concerns raised about ATVS, motorboats, buffer zones, etc, point again to the need to look at more enforcement power in our town.
The town would like our Committee to develop a plan of action on how to deal with pesticides in our community. Education should be a major focus.
Water levels in North Pond are a foot lower than this time last year. The Committee suggested that starting to promote a water conservation message early in the season before levels get below critical levels may help maintain appropriate levels for a longer period and postpone or eliminate the need for outdoor use bans.
10.1 2004 Neighbourhood Clean-up
Georges Dagenais was the winner of the prize package from the clean-up.
10.2 NEIA Composting Workshop
Ross attended the workshop and will prepare a report for Council. Based on information provided at the workshop, Ross has concluded that community composting for a town the size of Torbay is not feasible.
For anyone needing to get rid of trees from their property, Peggy advised that she has a wood chipper capable of taking branches up to 2" diameter.
10.3 SAM Meeting
The ATV problem was one of the main issues raised at the meeting.
10.4 EHJV Audit
Copies of the audit are available from Madeleine or Krista for anyone interested.
10.5 Hazardous Household Waste Day
The HHWD will take place on July 31 at the Town Hall. The company contracted to do the work will be responsible for advertising.
10.6 Vehicle Emission Clinic
The clinic will take place on August 17 at the HTES parking lot.
There is no meeting in July. The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, August 25, immediately following the Property Beautification Awards, which begin at 7:30pm.