There’s no January chill at the Grand River Conservation Authority, and this month there’s a lot of end of the year/beginning of the year business to get to including, perhaps most importantly, the budget. The board will take their second crack at the budget for 2024 before it goes on for final passage next month, and the municipalities they represent will find out how much it will cost. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg…
NOTE: This meeting will be in a hybrid format, broadcast from the GRCA Admin Centre on YouTube starting at 9:30 am.
Correspondence – There are two letters to the board in this month’s agenda package; one about the concerning rise in instances of ragweed, and another from Waterloo Region Nature that revisits concerns about the future of the Laurel Creek Nature Centre.
Completion of Transition Period for Ontario Regulation 687/21 – “The GRCA has completed all the requirements of the Transition Plan and associated Regulations.” That means that the authority has enacted all the changes made to its structure, funding and programming as required by updates to the Conservation Authorities Act made by the Government of Ontario. It seems that all 22 municipalities in the watershed have agreed to the new Memoranda of Understanding (MOU), and upon receipt of this report, staff will share the Final Inventory of Programs and Services to all watershed municipalities, plus the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, and it will be posted on the GRCA’s website too.
Budget 2024: Draft #2 – There’s not that much that’s changed to the overall budget, the GRCA is only spending about half-a-million dollars more in 2024, but the differences are in the margins when compared to the budget when it was last presented in October. There have been some “significant” changes since that first draft in some areas; an increase to special projects spending by just over $1 million, plus smaller increases to motor pool capital spending and information systems capital spending. There have also been other adjustments based on the 2023 actuals. The final budget vote will take place at next month’s board meeting.
Municipal Apportionment Approval 2024 – Separate from the budget itself, the board has to approve the apportionment, which is the portion that each municipality plays depending on how much of the watershed is in their borders. When it comes to Guelph, we’re worth 6.8 per cent of the vote, and our total apportionment for 2024 is nearly $1.789 million, which is a 1.8 per cent increase from 2023.
Cash and Investment Status – As of the end of November, the GRCA had Notes Receivable in the amount of $58,875,057 with outstanding cheques written in the amount of $89.851.
Fee Schedule 2: Conservation Areas Amended – When the 2024 fees were passed at last month’s meeting, staff forgot the updated rate for unserviced premium waterfront site at Guelph Lake Conservation Area. For 2024, the fee is $2,777 compared to $2595.49 in 2023. The board has to approve the new fee so that they can all be posted on March 1 in advance of campsite booking for the spring, summer and fall.
Permits issued under Ontario Regulation 150/06 – Every quarter, the GRCA provides a summery about the number of permits approved by the authority under the Administration of Development, Interference with Wetlands and Alterations to Shorelines and Watercourses Regulation polices. There were 184 total permits in October, November and December, eight of those were within the Guelph city limits.
Amendment to the Policies for the Administration of Permits under Ontario Regulation 150/06 – This is straightforward. The Ontario Building Code has made changes to the size cap exemption for residential accessory buildings like sheds or gazebos, meaning one-storey buildings that don’t require plumbing and might primarily be used for storage. Because of this change, the GRCA needs to reflect those changes in their own rule book.
Current Watershed Conditions – So the good news is that the watershed has already received 100 per cent of the long-term average precipitation for January. In fact, and this is right from the report, “Precipitation up to January 15 is approximately 200 percent of the long-term average for the equivalent period at several climate stations.” Due to the abnormally dry fall, the watershed was moved to a Level 1 low water condition before Christmas, but the GRCA staff are still studying the situation before making a decision to lift the condition.
Election of Officers – As we’ve seen all month, the first meeting of the year means that there needs to be an election for the chair and vice-chair of the board, and the Grand River Conservation Authority is no exception. Presently, Chris White and Susan Foxton are the chair and vice-chair respectively.
CLOSED MEETING:
After all this, the board will still have to meet in closed session to discuss a matter of litigation or potential litigation
Guelph Politico 