As we head to the end of the month, we get to our monthly meeting of the Grand River Conservation Authority membership board meeting. Nothing terribly Guelph-centric on the agenda for May, but there are more regulation and legislative changes to talk about that effect all us, plus there’s the monthly financial updates and a couple of new construction tenders to give out. Here’s the preview…
NOTE: This meeting will be in a hybrid format and broadcast from the GRCA Administration Centre on YouTube starting at 9:30 am.
Correspondences – There’s one email this month and it concerns the possibility of a ministerial zoning order (MZO) being sought for a development on University Avenue in Waterloo. Their concerns range from the relative short turnaround to get to a decision and the way that they feel the land has been mischaracterized as an open space and not a wetland.
Report of the Audit Committee – The Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks now requires that conservation authorities do audits of the source projection program for the last two years, but this is expected to now be a regular occurrence. Because there’s no requirement with this audit to either have it reported to the board or to secure board approval before it’s sent on to the ministry, staff are recommending that in the future it’s just brought to the board for information after the April 30 deadline.
Cash and Investment Status – As of the end of April, the GRCA had Notes Receivable in the amount of $59,362,417 with outstanding cheques written in the amount of $136,446.
Financial Summary – Since the last monthly report, self-generated revenue has increased by $10,000 thanks to an increase in tree planting activity out of Burford Tree Nursery and Planting Services. There was also a decrease in operating expenses including some savings from insurance premiums and staff vacancies.
Minutes of the Ad-hoc CA Act Regulations Committee – Last month, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing released a Provincial Policy Statement that looked to get feedback on the creation of a new planning oversight tool, one that integrates the Provincial Policy Statement and A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe into a single housing-first directive. As with their previous feedback with these planning changes, staff are recommending that the provincial government add a policy for subwatershed planning, which means that an area is scoped out to avoid water resource and natural heritage systems as well as natural hazard areas that may be unsafe for development in advance of changing zoning or an Official Plan. It’s considered a proactive policy to avoid environmental issues down the road.
Conformity and Housekeeping Update: GRCA’s Policies for the Administration of Ontario Regulation 41/24 – Back in February, the Ontario government released decision notices around changes to the Conservation Act. The revisions to the act includes new definitions and limitations, new decision criteria, new exemptions, and an increase to fines for development activity without a permit.
Elora Low Level Bridge Construction – HugoMB Contracting Inc. won the tender to fix this 70-year-old bridge in the Elora Gorge Conservation Area. The $600,000 budget will cover the placement of underwater tremmie concrete, the repair of the concrete bridge deck and nosing, and the replacement of existing concrete tubing exit platform.
Conestogo Dam Concrete Repair Tender Award – Clearwater Structures Incorporated won the tender here, nearly $3.3 million that will go to the final two phases of this project. The project involves staged concrete repairs to the upstream portion of the structure including upstream surfaces of the abutment walls, piers, pier corbels and curtain walls, the northwest and southwest wingwalls, soffit of the hoist house and other miscellaneous work.
Current Watershed Conditions – So April was about 1.5 degrees warmer than the long-term average for the month, and the temperature for the first part of May has been about 2.5 degrees warmer when measured at the Shand Dam. Precipitation ranged from between 49 and 120 per cent of the long-term average for May so far, but the watershed remains in a normal condition for the moment.
Guelph Politico 