MINUTES

 

TORBAY ENVIRONMENT & TRAILS COMMITTEE MEETING

 

Kinsmen Centre, Wednesday, November 28, 2001

 

Present:                Shirley Thorne (Chair)                                Madeleine Florent (Secr)

Mike Wawrzkow (Treas)                                Michele DuRand

Gerard Dunphy                                                Francis Thorne

Marion Crowley                                                Paul Snelgrove

Harvey Best                                                Evan Edinger

Sandy Sandeman

 

1.                  Introductions and Consideration of Agenda

Introductions were made. The agenda was circulated and approved.

 

2.                  Minutes of the Last Meeting

The minutes of October 31 were approved with a couple of corrections in item 1.1: Mr. Doyle will be sending his letter of support directly to EcoAction. It was EHJV that walked the Gully not the Conservation Corps.

 

3.                  Business Arising from the Minutes:

 

3.1.      Trail’s End - Status of Development Plan

The Plan is still under development. Once it has been revised to Council’s satisfaction, it will be forwarded to the appropriate government departments, including EHJV, for review and comment. It is important that the restrictions regarding development in the buffer zones are included as part of the legal deeds to ensure the information is passed on to future owners. Council has met with the developer on this. However, the committee still has some concerns that the realtor may not be taking the restrictions seriously; for example, prospective buyers are told that all unmotorized watercrafts and skidoos will be allowed free access to the pond. Since there is to be only a public access to the pond, buyers might incorrectly assume that they can build  boathouses or docks. Harvey will draft a letter to Council outlining our continuing concerns. Lots are going quickly; seven of the eleven lots on the pond have already been sold.

 

3.2            Habitat Management Plan - Status

The Mayor has met with Bob Schmiedendorf to clarify a few points and the final plan will soon be available. There might be a signing ceremony with the Minister.

 

3.3       Walk on Father Troy Trail to the Beamer, November 18

Twelve people participated in the walk which was very enjoyable.  If the weather holds, we will have a walk to Jones’ Pond on Boxing Day, including a boil-up, starting at 1pm. Madeleine will send out the usual notices.

 

3.4            Location of TETC Meetings

We will continue to meet at the Kinsmen Centre on the last Wednesday of each month and try to start around 8:15pm if possible (the Centre is booked for Brownies until then). This is considered the best choice as we don’t want to change the date of the meetings and the Kinsmen is the preferred available location.

 

3.5            Recreation Committee

It is important that we have better ties with the Recreation Committee and that we share information about our activities. We will provide them with copies of our minutes and a copy of our terms of reference when they are approved. Madeleine will send a letter to the chair inviting Tina or other representative to our meetings on a regular basis. We will also discuss with them whether our committee should attend Recreation Committee meetings. TETC

 

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members should also make a point of attending the public hearings being planned by the Recreation Committee in the new year.

 

3.6            Newsletter

Copies of the draft newsletter were distributed. It went to the printer this morning along with the Town’s and the Recreation Committee’s.

 

4.                  New Business

 

4.1       TETC Web Site

Our web site is up and running. The site is impressive and is the result of a lot of work by Michele. Registration of our domaine name will cost $50/year. Michele is looking for input, ideas(e.g. article by Ross on composting?), photos(e.g. walks, ATVs),suggestions for links, etc, anything that we could put in. We have lots of space left. Once the site is complete, Michele will update it at 1-2 month intervals.    

 

4.2       TETC Terms of Reference

Mike circulated the latest draft of our terms of reference for review. It was agreed we should take out the section on past issues and interests as this was not necessary. The communications section is important as we want to maintain open lines of communications with Council. Communications with the media should be cleared through Council and we will appoint one person to speak on behalf of the committee, i.e. Shirley. We will advise the mayor whenever we speak to the media. The document will be ready to be tabled at the next Council meeting. Madeleine will arrange to have the item placed on the agenda.

 

4.3       Gully Project

a) Recycling Poster: Mike has designed a great poster to publicize our recycling program. It has been decided that the poster will not be included as part of the newsletter. However, we will put up posters around town and in stores on Stavanger Drive. We will be looking at other avenues in the next few months which could serve to get the message out, such as an ad in the Northeast Avalon Times, radio messages, etc. Anyone with ideas should let Mike know. The receipts from Nova should either be passed over to Mike or kept in our file at Nova.

b) Allocation of Funds to Cover Printing Costs: Mike has gotten estimates on the costs of printing a poster. The committee agreed to spend up to $100 for printing.

c) Walk through the Gully: Shirley, Sandy, Harvey and Madeleine will walk through the Gully on Tuesday, starting at 10:30 am to take water level measurements. This can then be compared to those measurements taken in July-August.

 

4.4       ATV Issue

Gerard distributed a draft letter to Council on the ATV problem for review. It is hoped that bringing this issue before the Council and the RNC again will result in stepped up enforcement as it did two years ago. The letter should refer to previous efforts made to improve the problem and acknowledge that this is a difficult issue with no easy solution. The main cause are lack of adequate enforcement by the RNC and by parents. We will suggest that the town raise the issue with the province and consider hiring a private firm like the town of Paradise has done.  Perhaps our enforcement officer could contact staff in Paradise to get details on their monitoring program. Another possibility is having the enforcement officer take photographs when infractions are spotted. The letter will be revised and forwarded to Council within the next couple of weeks.

 

4.5       Letter to Provincial Government re Dumping of Asphalt on Carter Property

While we are not very hopeful, it was agreed that we would like to send a letter to the provincial government asking for confirmation that the asphalt poses no risk to the Gully, or at least putting on the record that the dumping occurred and they will be responsible should problems develop in the future.  Madeleine will run this idea past Bob Codner and get approval for a letter to be sent either signed by him or by us.

 

 

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4.6       Tender for Dam at North Pond

Shirley will speak to Bob Codner about plans to let a tender in the spring for the construction of a new dam at North Pond. We need to know if this new dam will impact on the current water supply to the Gully and whether he has consulted with EHJV.

 

4.7       TETC Budget

Mike submitted a budget of $4580 for our committee for 2002. Either Shirley or Mike will attend the Council budget meeting tomorrow night at 7pm.

 

4.8       East Coast Trail Association

Two representatives of the ECTA attended the last Council meeting and presented the town with a framed copy of the charter signed by all mayors at the official opening of the trail last September. Madeleine attended the launching of the ECTA’s first guide book recently. There will eventually be a total of 8 books. On November 12, the Mayor sent a letter to Ralph Wiseman, Minister of the Environment, confirming our town’s support for the development of the northern section of the trail.

 

4.9            Property Beautification Awards/Community Recognition Program Sub-Committee

This item was deferred.

 

5.                  Meetings Attended by Committee Representatives

 

5.1            Council Meetings: November 13 and 26

Michele DuRand attended on November 13 and Madeleine on November 26.

 

5.2            Heritage Committee Meeting, November 8

Madeleine attended the November 8 meeting. Sandy Sandeman volunteered to attend the next meeting which will take place on Tuesday, December 4 at 7:30 pm at Liddy’s.

 

6.                  Date of Next Meeting and Adjournment

The next meeting will take place on January 30, 2002, at 8:15 pm at the Kinsmen Centre.

 

The meeting adjourned at 10:00 pm

 

 

 

 

Recorded by Madeleine Florent