MARKHAM CONSERVATION COMMITTEE

 

TOWN OF MARKHAM

Ontario Room 

APRIL 28, 2005

7:00 PM

 

MINUTES

 

ATTENDANCE

 

 

Members:

Staff:

Brent Mersey, Chair

John O’Gorman

Jean-Pierre Bombardier

Joan Maddock

Krista Olins

Regional Councillor Jack Heath (8:05 pm)

Lindsay Turko

Romila Verma

Councillor Erin Shapero

Mary Hopperton

Mike Hough

Judi Kosch, Committee Clerk

 

Regrets

Joan Jenkyn

Stephanie Sokolyk

River He

Karen Volpe

 

 

 

1.      CALL TO ORDER

 

Brent Mersey, Chair, called the meeting to order at 7:15 pm; he introduced and welcomed 2 new Committee members, Mary Hopperton and Mike Hough.

 

2.      CHANGES OR ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA (7:15 – 7:17 pm)

 

The following items be added to the agenda:  under Items for Information – Celebrate our Environment and Milne Park Sewer project; under New Business – Regional EAC meeting; under Reports of Subcommittees – a slide show from Earth Day.

     

3.      ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES OF THE MARKHAM CONSERVATION

COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON MARCH 31, 2005 (7:11 – 7:14 pm)

 

Moved by John O’Gorman

Seconded by Krista Olins

 

THAT the minutes of the Markham Conservation Committee meeting held on March 31, 2005, be adopted.

CARRIED

 

 

4.   ITEMS FOR INFORMATION

 

a)   Milne Park Sewer Project (7:14 – 7:25 pm) – John O’Gorman made a brief presentation on the Region of York’s proposed closure of a section of sewer line under the pond in the Milne Park Conservation area and its relocation to the open green space (conservation) area.  There followed considerable discussion and it was agreed that John would contact the Clerk’s Department with a request to appear as a deputation at the next General Committee meeting; the issues to be presented include the proposed mapping of the sewer line through the conservation area, a request to have alternate routes explored, and that Town staff be directed to investigate and report back to Council at the earliest opportunity.  This item is also to be placed on the next MCC agenda for May 26th for further updates.

 

b)   Celebrate our Environment (7:25 – 7:27 pm) – Krista Olins, on behalf of Karen Boniface, distributed posters along with other items and asked members to post them throughout the community.

 

5.      NEW BUSINESS

 

a)   Toronto Wildlife Centre (7:27 – 7:46 pm) – Councillor Shapero spoke briefly of the work done by the Wildlife Centre and the increasing need of their services due to the rapidly expanding urban areas and its impact on the wildlife.  There was general support for their application for funding under MESF and it was agreed to support the request in principle.

 

      On a motion by Councillor Erin Shapero, seconded by Mary Hopperton and unanimously carried, it was agreed that the Markham Conservation Committee endorses the Toronto Wildlife Centre’s application for funding under the Markham Environmental Sustainability Fund and recognizes its services and outreach in the Markham community.

 

b)      Mission Green Bin (7:46 - 7:50 pm) – John O’Gorman provided a brief update on this initiative and confirmed the town-wide launch of July 4th; there is a need for a MCC contact coordinator; he also stated that there will be a notice placed on the Markham Page in the Tuesday Economist & Sun asking for volunteer ambassadors to assist with this launch.  Romila Verma advised that a Community and Outreach sub-committee meeting is being arranged within the next week and will provide a name after that time.  Mary Hopperton will meet with Romila to discuss the possible participation of high school students as ambassadors across the town to assist with the launch.

 

c)   Parks, Roads & Streams  (7:50 – 8:05 pm) – John O’Gorman spoke of a recent meeting in German Mills where questions were raised pertaining to which Town department is responsible for parks, roads and streams.  There were concerns raised with the fact that it is the Roads Department responsibility for cleaning out the streams – their background is in engineering not environmental stewardship.  Following considerable discussion, it was agreed that Brent Mersey/John O’Gorman arrange a meeting with representatives from the Town, Region of York and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority along with a couple of members from the Markham Conservation Committee to initiate ways of starting a clean-up of the streams throughout the Town that have become blocked by debris causing flooding, stagnant waters and pollution.  Brent Mersey and John O’Gorman will prepare a photo presentation, highlighting these waterways, for the proposed meeting.

 

      On a motion by Mary Hopperton, seconded by Jean-Pierre Bombardier and unanimously carried, it was agreed that representatives from the Markham Conservation Committee, Town of Markham, Region of York and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority meet to discuss ways of initiating a cleanup of waterways throughout the Town in an environmentally sensitive manner.

 

d)   Regional Environmental Assessment Committee (EAC) Meeting (8:05 – 8:10 pm) – Krista Olins reviewed the upcoming meeting of the Regional EAC in Newmarket on May 11 from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m.  Committee agreed that the following items should be part of MCC’s presentation at the meeting:  Mission Green, Anti-Idling By-law, Communities in Bloom, Eco Susie Awards and Clean Air initiative

 

6.      MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

 

a)   Markham Conservation Committee Goals 2004/2005 (8:10 – 8:17 pm) – Brent Mersey advising that he is continuing to collect data from the Committee members and encouraged them to provide him with their areas of interest at the earliest opportunity.  He went on to recognize the tremendous efforts of the Community Outreach & Education committee in organizing the recent highly successful Earth Day event.  Romila Verma spoke of the possibility of reviving the question of the Committee’s web page; Mary Hopperton will work with Romila on this initiative.  Romila also requested an update on the functions of the Waste Management sub-committee for possible inclusion on the proposed web page; Joan Maddock agreed to Chair this sub-committee and will provide the information to Romila.  It was also agreed that notification should go out to all members whenever a sub-committee meeting is called.

 

b)   Committee Membership (8:17 – 8:27 pm) - Brent Mersey advised of the 4 new appointments to the Committee – 2 re-appointments:  Joan Maddock and Karen Volpe – and 2 new members:  Mike Hough and Mary Hopperton.  Mike Hough spoke of his great interests in nature and in his travels around the world has observed what different countries are doing to address environmental concerns; he has participated in various town initiatives including tree planting, cleanup in Milne Park; and feels he can bring a different perspective to the Committee through what he has seen during his travels.  Mary Hopperton explained that her involvement in community cleanups started as a result of poor health and has grown into an extensive amount of work in coordinating and managing the ongoing cleanup of the Walden Pond area from Bullock Drive to Kennedy Road; she encouraged Committee members to attend a tree planting event scheduled for Saturday April 29 involving over 300 high school students.

     

c)      Town Kyoto Project (8:27 – 8:30 pm) – Councillor Erin Shapero advised that most of the members have been appointed and it is expected that the first meeting will occur in June; she went on to highlight the many town initiatives currently underway and will continue to provide updates to the Committee.

d)      Idle Free Day (8:30 – 8:32 pm) – Jean-Pierre Bombardier called on all members to participate in the idle free program by signing a petition indicating commitment to turning off their vehicles when not in motion; he also spoke of the competition with other municipalities in York Region to have the highest number of participants in this program – Markham is lagging behind – and encouraged members to circulate the petition to as many as possible – the challenge ends on May 31st!

 

e)      Tree By-law (8:32 – 8:45 pm) – John O’Gorman circulated a draft letter to Markham Council concerning the Town having its own tree by-law.  Following considerable discussion, it was agreed that the letter be revised to stress the strong support of the Markham Conservation Committee for a Town Tree By-law that would apply equally  across the Town and that the removal of any tree be based on the value of the tree and not its size.

     

7.   REPORTS OF SUBCOMMITTEES

 

a)   Waste Management (8:53 – 9:00 pm) – Joan Maddock requested an update on the success of the Mayor’s 20 minute clean up – 15,000 people signed up – incredible job done throughout the Town.

 

      On a separate issue, Regional Councillor Jack Heath spoke further of the upcoming Mission Green launch and the plans in place for delivering the bins, etc. town-wide; he also spoke of the impending change to the blue box initiative, the possibility of setting up a permanent kiosk at the Markville Mall to assist in the promotion of these programs.  He indicated an interest in attending the next Waste Management meeting to assist in the setting up of the volunteer/ambassador program to inform the residents of this important program.

 

b)   Community Outreach and Education (8:45 – 8:53pm) – Lindsay Turko read Stephanie Sokolyk’s report on the recent Earth Day event at Markville Mall.  Jean-Pierre provided a brief Power Point presentation of pictures from the event.  Councillor Shapero stated this was the best Earth Day event!  Romila Verma stressed that without the strong leadership of Stephanie Sokolyk this event would not have succeeded.

 

8.   REPORTS FROM RELATED COMMITTEES

 

 

9.      NEXT MEETING

 

The next meeting of the Markham Conservation Committee is scheduled for Thursday, May 26, 2005 at 7:00 pm in the Ontario Room.

 

ADJOURNMENT

 

      There being no further business, it was moved by Mary Hopperton and seconded by Mike Hough, that the meeting be adjourned at 9:00 pm

      CARRIED

 

ConservMin050428.doc