Communications Coordinators meeting, 2017-05-13
09:00-12:00 Saturday May 13, 2017
Christ Church basement, 7 London Road, Port Albert
ACLA Communications Coordinators and designated alternates
- Represented:
Amberley Beach,
Brindley Beach,
Cedar Grove,
Huron Sands,
Kintail Beach,
Linfield Beach,
Maple Grove,
Mid-Huron Beach,
Port Albert,
Sunset Beach
- Not represented:
Ashfield Beach,
Birch Beach,
Bogie's Beach,
Buchanan's Beach,
Goat Trail,
Green Acres Cove,
Horizon View,
Huron Sands North,
Huron Shores,
Hunter's Beach,
Kingsbridge Shores,
Lake Huron Resort,
Lakeland Estates,
Martin's Point,
Menesetung Park,
Shamrock Beach,
Victoria Beach,
Vogel's Beach
Introductions and opening remarks
- meeting facilitator: Nigel Bellchamber (Amberley Beach)
- invited guests:
ACW (Ben VanDiepenbeek),
HCHU (Jean-Guy Albert),
MVCA (Phil Beard, Steve Jackson, Geoff King, Sarah Fleischhaur),
MOECC (Ted Briggs),
OMAFRA (Jacqui Empson Laporte)
Updates on environmental initiatives
Huron County Health Unit
- mandated to conduct annual water-quality testing at the public
beaches in Huron County
- found a lab that can do DNA analysis, sent samples from Goderich
Beach to identify sources of e-coli; results indicated that primary
source was gulls; will pursue this season for worst-case readings from
other monitored beaches
Maitland Valley Conservation Authority
- shoreline erosion: have hired a coastal-engineering consultant to
update the 100-year mapping by analyzing changes from 1973 to 2015; hope
to have results in time for public consultation with property owners in
2018
- gully erosion: looking at techniques for putting a 100-year
timeline on the progression of erosion
- requirements for geotechnical reports: developing a
terms-of-reference document that property owners can give to engineers
when contracting for a report
- Garvey Glenn watershed:
started 7 years ago, still about 3 more years' work to be done;
now have 16 water/sediment control basins, 2km of grassed waterways,
1km of watercourse buffers, 1.5km of windbreaks, 6 acres of trees
planted, and an edge-of-field monitoring station;
emphasizing crop cover and conservation tillage to increase soil
health; stressing the importance of doing new projects under the
Drainage Act to ensure on-going maintenance
Ministry of Environment and Climate Change
- funding is currently focused on Lake Erie's problems
- Healthy Lake Huron program is a direct consequence of presentations
to the Ministry started by ACLA and partners almost ten years ago; the
Garvey Glen project is one of the five priorty watersheds; all five are
starting to show positive results; need to keep up the lobbying efforts
to continue and expand the program
Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs
- working with Certified Crop Advisors to help them advise their
clients on including measures that keep soil and nutrients on the
land
- developing a drainage-design manual for new Drainage Engineers
- encouraging landowners to include soil-health and erosion-control
requirements in rental agreements
- working with MOECC on Nutrient Managmeent Act amendments to
strengthen provisions against spreading manure during the winter, but
concerned about impact on small-operation farmers
ACW update
Ben VanDiepenbeek (Reeve)
- Township taxes going up 6%, mainly due to change in OPP funding
formula; ACW still has the lowest tax rate in the County
- major repaving work on Belfast Road, partly funded by road-damage
settlement payment from K2 Wind; repairing three bridges, replacing a
bridge on Zion Road
- proposed change for 2018 election will reduce Council from seven to
five ... one Councillor elected per ward, plus elected-at-large Reeve
and Deputy Reeve
- voting in the 2018 election will be by telephone and Internet
instead of mail-in
Roger Watt (Deputy Reeve)
- High-speed broadband update ...
- HuronTel has a federal/provincial "Small Communities Fund" grant to
bring fiber-based high-speed broadband Internet/phone/HDTV service to
the fourteen lakefront areas in the Ashfield ward, presumably to be done
by the end of 2018
- Huron County has partnered with Comcentric (the
technology-infrastructure arm of HuronTel, Hay, and TCC) on an
application for a federal "Connect To Innovate" grant for a three-year
$31M program to bring fibre-based high-speed broadband to all the areas
of Huron County that do not currently have it; if the application is
approved, HuronTel will extend its fibre-based service to the Colborne
ward in the first of those three years
Treasurer's report
Jim Baird (Amberley Beach)
- lab-testing costs for the 2016 stream-testing program were $6,868
- currently $14,776 in the bank account
Next steps for ACLA
- no longer pursuing stream-testing program; the results were not
changing enough to justify the costs
- will use up to $6,000 to fund the HCHU to include DNA testing at
beaches it monitors in ACW; Mike McElhone (Port Albert) and Beth Ross
(Mid Huron) will work with HCHU to determine which beaches and what
protocols
- need a communications mechanism to reach all ACW lakefront property
owners
Adjourn
Next meeting: Saturday May 12, 2018; location TBD.