Ontario Room
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ATTENDANCE |
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Members: |
Staff: |
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Brent Mersey Regional Councillor Jack Heath Lindsay Turko Krista Olins |
Regrets
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1.
CALL TO ORDER
Joan
Jenkyn, Acting Chair, called the meeting to order at
2.
CHANGES OR ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA
Joan Jenkyn advised of the following additions
to the agenda: under New Business –
Environmental Issues Committee, Cycling and Pedestrian Advisory Committee,
Letter from Richard Jarrell; and under Matters Arising – addendum to (a) –
expectations of Council of the role of MCC and its history and mandate.
3.
ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES OF THE
Seconded by Lindsay
Turko
THAT the minutes of the
Markham Conservation Committee meeting held on
CARRIED
4.
NEW BUSINESS
a) Election of New Chair/Vice Chair
Joan Jenkyn withdrew as Acting Chair to speak on the nomination for Chair and Vice-Chair. Joan indicated that she was resigning as Vice-Chair for health reasons but wished to stay on the Committee and would assist the new Chair/Vice-Chair when necessary.
On a motion by Joan Jenkyn, seconded by Karen Volpe and unanimously carried, Brent Mersey was elected as the Chair of the Markham Conservation Committee, as well as the Committee’s representative on the Environmental Issues Committee.
On a motion by Joan Jenkyn, seconded by Stephanie Sokolyk, and unanimously carried, Romila Verma was elected as the Vice-Chair of the Markham Conservation Committee.
It was also noted that Stephanie Sokolyk was the Committee’s representative on the Cycling and Pedestrian Advisory Committee.
b) Fish Ladder,
Joan Maddock gave a brief overview on the history of the ladder and raised concerns, on behalf of the residents and the Ratepayers’ group, on the current condition of the pond (covered with algae, no carp and low water levels upstream) and the ability of fish to ascend the ladder to spawn with the current low water levels. There was considerable discussion on this issue and it was agreed that Joan Maddock would meet separately with Regional Councillor Heath and Brent Mersey to discuss options to address the concerns/problems.
c) Anti-Idling Campaign
Joan Jenkyn gave a brief overview on this initiative and the involvement of the York Region Environmental Alliance. It was noted that Jean-Pierre Bombardier has been hired by the Town, on a part-time basis, as one of the technicians that will be speaking to schools and other groups throughout the Town to promote this endeavour. Regional Councillor Heath advised that a by-law will be coming into effect early in 2005 and stated that he will arrange to have the technicians make a presentation to the next Committee meeting.
d) Pomona Creek Task Force
Richard Jarrell provided an overview on this initiative and called on the committee to submit a representative to the Town to sit on this Task Force. It was agreed that this was needed and critical for the restoration of the Creek. John O’Gorman agreed to have his name put forward.
e) Regional Media Release
on Litter Prevention and
Claudia Marsales, Manager, Waste Management, provided an update on the Region of York’s recently approved strategy on litter prevention that will be promoting programs with schools and clean-up initiatives. There was general discussion on various Town programs, and Ms. Marsales will bring a draft strategy report to the Committee for their input.
Ms. Marsales advised that the Mission Green initiative has been highly successful and there has been no public issue with the new program. Regional Councillor Heath stated that it was the best launch of a program ever and commended the ambassadors for their contribution to its success. Claudia, along with a couple of committee members, went to the Newmarket recycling facility earlier this month – the electricity generated from methane production is in excess of that needed to operate the facility so the surplus is being sold to the Hydro grid! Committee members expressed interest in visiting the site and Claudia agreed to make the necessary arrangements.
Regional Councillor Heath spoke to the issue of plastic vs. paper bags for yard waste and indicated that approval was given to institute the use of paper bags next spring. He suggested it will be a difficult initiative to promote and suggested providing the paper bags at a reduced cost at the launch of the program.
f) Town of
No comment at this time.
g) Letter from Richard Jarrell
Joan Jenkyn read aloud Richard Jarrell’s letter of resignation. Committee members expressed their regrets and recognized his contributions to the Committee and the Town over his years on the Committee. Richard Jarrell agreed to stay on as a representative on the Markham Centre Advisory Committee until year-end and would meet with the newly appointed Chair and Vice Chair as to a replacement candidate. He recognized the hard work of the Committee and encouraged them to continue with their efforts.
5.
MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
a)
It was agreed that Brent Mersey and Romila Verma would work together on
the Committee’s goals and report back to the November meeting. There was some discussion on the Committee’s
understanding of its role.