This month’s meeting of the Grand River Conservation Authority membership is the last one before a summer break (like a lot of local boards and committees), and that means it’s time for some unfinished business. On the agenda for June is an update about the regulatory changes, a change to the floodplain plan in Haldimand County, and more information about capacity limits at the Elora Quarry Conservation Area.
NOTE: This meeting will be in a hybrid format, broadcast from the GRCA Admin Centre on YouTube starting at 9:30 am.
PRESENTATIONS: Pam Walther-Mabee, the Manager of Conservation Area Operations at the GRCA, will speaking to “Unauthorized Activity” in the Rockwood Conservation Area, specifically rock climbing. There are about a half-a-dozen correspondences in the board package expressing dismay and disappointment about the removal of bolts and other rock climbing infrastructure that’s accrued over the years. No presentation materials were inserted in the agenda.
Correspondence – Along with the correspondences about rock climbing, there’s an additional email asking for federal invention to protect wildlife in the wake of Ontario’s Bill 23.
Capacity Measures and Operational Improvements at the Elora Quarry – Last month at the meeting there was a delegation about the limits on capacity at the Elora Quarry, and the membership looked at getting more information on the matter. Despite what you may have thought, it seems like there have been issues with managing capacity at the quarry for a long time now, even pre-pandemic. It’s a pretty popular place, and their were concerns about security, infrastructure, traffic and the natural environment, and those concerns were shared by the OPP and the Township of Centre Wellington. So it looks like the GRCA is going to stay the course for now with the present capacity limits.
Ad-hoc Conservation Authorities Act Regulations Committee from June 7, 2023 – These are the minutes from the last committee meeting, and much of the information discussed will be covered in the next meeting item.
Progress Report #5: Ontario Regulation 687/21 – The GRCA, and other conservation authorities, must occasionally check in with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry about the progress in reaching new memorandum of understanding (MOU) with member municipalities following the provincial change to regulations. Staff are reporting here that there’s been no formal comments from municipalities about the inventory of programs and services, which means no changes have been requested. Staff are now waiting for the end of the month when the reporting period for feedback from municipalities about the draft MOU closes.
Cash and Investment Status – As of the end of May, the GRCA has Notes Receivable in the amount of $56,548,676 with outstanding cheques written in the amount of $57,565.
Financial Summary – The financial statements for May include a revenue increase from the Burford Nursery, which is forecasting a $80,000 increase in the revenue from the sale of trees, but at the same time operating expenses increased by $80,000 due to increased spending on seed and other planting materials and supplies. All things considered, the GRCA is still forecasting a $311,000 surplus for 2023.
Request for Proposals: Engineering Consulting Services, Permits and Plan Review – It’s being recommended to the membership that they accept a proposal from Stantec Consulting, the winning candidate of a recently completed request for proposal. Stantec will provide engineering consulting services for the review of some applications including; permit applications submitted under Ontario Regulation 150/06, pre-consultation or Planning Act applications circulated to the GRCA by municipalities in the watershed, Aggregate Act applications, Drainage Act circulations, Environmental Assessments and other projects as assigned.
Dunnville Two Zone Floodplain Policy and Mapping Update, County of Haldimand – By request, the GRCA reviewed the floodplain analysis and the consultant came to the concludion that the present One-Zone Floodplain Policies can be replaces with a Two-Zone policy, which will allow for modifications to existing buildings, infill development
and redevelopment in the flood fringe portion of the floodplain as opposed to a near outright prohibition on such projects under One-Zone. The recommendations asks the membership to update the floodplain mapping with these revisions.
Current Watershed Conditions – May was a pretty dry month, and the first part of June has almost been equally dry with only one rain event that result in an average of 30 millimetres. The low precipitation meant that the reservoirs were not able to be filled to the June 1 targets, which is bad because groundwater is still experiencing the effects of historic lows in 2022.
CLOSED MEETING:
The membership will go into closed sessions to talk about a matter of litigation or potential litigation under section 239(2) of the Municipal Act.
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