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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1976-12-22, Page 6Gilled with a happy holiday glow knowing we have so many good friends! Thanks dill 110LIVIgS and MatiatAN SEAPORTil 6 IHE.:BAUSSELS POST, DECEMBER $2 19`/0 • • 0 The Staff and Their Families Wish Everyone... The Merriest of Christmases and a Happy New Year... -hag " You for Shoppirf LP' UpatEo to-oPERATIvEs of °wow MVCA to _make long range pl Instead of working on short term projects from now on, Maitland. Valley Conservation Authority was warned at the annual meeting on Thursday afternoon, to start looking at programs which, will be completed over a period of years. The Ministry of Natural Resources has set up new guidelines for Authorities in which they will have to budget over a period of five to 10 years. In this way the Ministry will h ave concrete evidence that Authorities are expecting to control facilities for longer periods of time. They will also be ab le to go to the government for finances on projects which, will be spread out over more than one year. The budget for the Maitland. Valley Conservation Authority for 1977 has been estimated at $1,054,400, broken doWn, as $108,600 for administration; $40,000 general maintenance; $418,000 water and related land management; $122,800 regional recreation; $325,000 special projects - Listowel and $40,000 for watershed inventory: Whether this budget will pass the Ministry of Natural Resources is not known. However it shows that the MVCA has allowed for a lot of work to be done in 1977. Some of the programs May have to be cut back if the budget is not approved before the, annual meeting in February of 1977. Chairman - Busy Chairman Lorne Murray, Moorefield, told the Authority members that he had been busy over the past year. He said, he attended the Great Lakes Authority meeting in Buffalo and the members of this group from the United States were "amazed at the power Conservation Authorities in Ontario have." "They can't understand the power small authorities have in Canada. Every project in 'the United States has to go through Congress before being passed," said Mr. Murray. "Small projects just don't get off the grotind. It has to be a big project costing in the millions of dollars before work is started." Mr. Murray told the members that "under the new regulations' of the Ministry of Natural Resources, any new recreation areas proposed have to be in conjunction with water resources. "It is not inconceivable that the governitent would put provincial parks into private enterprise. They had two last year and they proved very favorable," he said: Resources Manager Ian Deslauriers.• told the members that a Long Range Land Acquisition Plan will have to be updated. It is not an immediate plan, however, in accordance with new.regulations this will have to be done. Everything has to be a long-range pkogram and extension and ac4uisition has to be for the next 10 to 20 years. The plan is one which was started in 1954 and is now out-dated. He said, "I ant happy to report that, based on our past few years of effort and on our lilst of future projects, the water management program for the MVCA is a diversified and strong one," Some of the improvements to this year's flood warning • system include the installation of two telemark river gauges one upstream in Wingharn in Turnberry Township and one downstream of Listowel, and the proposed installation of a third telemark upstream of Wingham in Morris Township. Staff gauges are presently being installed at seven bridge sites throughout the watershed to ease the job of flood watchers and to improve the accuracy of flood flow projections. Listowel Problem Mr. Gower also mentioned that the Listowel conduit repairs study has made it clear that' nothing short of a complete rebuilding of the structure would constitute money well-spent. The anticipated cost fo reconstruction is approximately $2 million. The resulting streamlined conduit will be capable of , passing a one-in- hundred year flood safely through the downtown portions of Listowel. He said the conduit repair must be placed at the top of the priority list and the Authority must proceed with construction as quickly as possible. Along with the repair of the conduit, the downstream channel through Listowel needs to be streamlined and stabilized if it is adequately to cope with future floods. A' detailed plan and specifications have already been prepared for this phase and hopefully construction will start in late spring of 1977 if provincial funds are made available. Turnberry floodplain Mr. Gower also mentioned the mill pond dams, fill line mapping, floodplain mapping, Turnberry floodplain, shoreline study and • watershed study. He said the Turnberry floodplain project is off to a good start. "This year's allocation of $50,000 has been spent on the appraisal of over 35 properties and the acquisition of three residences and one riding stable acreage. The township has given excellent co-operation' and we appreciate this willingness to help fund the project during these tight budgetary times," said Mr. Gower. ; "Building demolition will take place on the properties we presently own later this winter. The township is presently investigating other property alternatives for the remaining residents in the floodplain. Provided that these investigations are successful, we expect that several other properties will be purchased in the new year." He went on to say that due to the expansions of the watershed in recent years, it is essential that the Authority have an accurate inventory of these new problem areas, It is proposed that the. Conservation authority prepare terms of reference for a water management study of the Lucknow River and area. The Province of Ontario is prepared to give 100 percent funding for this study which ' indicates the importance the government places on proper planning in these new watershed' units. The study is expected to take two to three years to complete. It is essential that the Authority collect a sufficient amount of data on the water resources of the area so that it can make intelligent decisions on when and where to spend funds for such things as erosion control and swamp 'protection. Mr. Gower said the government has recently pointed out to conservation'authorities in the province, that they have not placed enough' emphasis on water management. Maitland Valley Conservation Authority should be proud of the fact it is exempt from that criticism because it has a strong and diversified' water management system. There were a number of other reports given at the meeting, all relating to what had been done over the past year. Province Manager's report In the resources manager's ,report presented by Ian Deslauriers, he stated, "The Maitland 'Valley Conservation Authority has, along with every other conservation authority, prepared a revised form of budget which marks the beginning of a new period in history. This is as a `result of the major revisions to the Policy Procedure and Information Manual, only one of several new administration and program ideas which are designed' to improve the value of each dollar we spend." Perhaps the best word to 'summarize what will be required by all Authorities in the, years to come is planning, For over two decades conservation authorities, have been basing their goals, objectives, projects and, planning On information provided in the original watershed reports." "In many cases, however, some projects have been dropped while otherS tend to,dominate for long periods of time. This has caused a loss of direction and purpose in many cases since, once the major project was completed, the Authority may have taken years to develop new projects or priorities. "In orderto prevent this from happening in the Maitland Valley we need to revise our Authority's goals and objectives so that they more clearly reflect where we have been and where we are. going in the watershed management business," said the speaker. Begun process The MVCA has already begun the process of program planning in the land acquisition and parks master plan components of the budget. Additional program reviews will be required in 1977. Ih other business, Mrs. 'Gilbert „ Beecroft of Belgrave has been . given authority to set op. a history of the Falls Reserve. Conservation . Area. She approached the Authority because she has already done some re area. Following the rea reports, a slide pres( given by Jim Beect 1976 projects and also included a new show entitled `.`Con, Natural". The film was 'Hoch regional office of the Services Branch of the Natural Resources summer in co-oper Authority staff. I available upon re presentation in 1977 t all ,descriptions as we shown in the display Mr. -Beecroft meet another audio-visu "Conservation r Is presented on a n occasions last year. Guide troops, a munici and several school reacted favourably presentation. In accordance with regifiations, several m project approvals wer These included; Valley Conservation development; Gorri detailed engineerin construction; Listowel construction; Flood Li program; Land a program; Sundry Con areas developnient as of budget and management study. A revise the goals and o toward program plann also adopted.