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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJune 8, 2001 WATERFRONT COORDINATING COMMITTEE NOTES FROM THE MEETING OF A WORKING GROUP OF THE WATERFRONT COORDINATING COMMITTEE HELD ON FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2001 AT 2:00 P.M. IN THE MAIN COMMITTEE ROOM TO REVIEW THE PROPOSED FRENCHMAN'S BAY ENTRANCE RESTORATION Present: Mayor Wayne Arthurs Councillor Mark Holland - Chair Councillor Dave Ryan Everett Buntsma, Director, Operations & Emergency Services Neil Carroll, Director, Planning & Development Tom Melymuk, Division Head, Corporate Projects & Policies Bruce Taylor, City Clerk Jim Dike Harold Hough Bernie Luttmer Bill Page Gary Peck Laura Rawley Jacqueline Smart Kevin Tower Peggy Wilmot Milo Sturm, representing Shoreplan Engineering Limited . Milo Sturm provided an overhead presentation of the proposed Frenchman's Bay Entrance Restoration project. Mr. Sturm noted that the channel will be expanded to 90 feet as opposed to the present 75 feet and extensive modeling will be required to determine the effect of the breakwaters on the beaches. The effect of the new breakwaters on sediment movement in the Lake is very localized. He noted that the report is being finalized and after that, it will be submitted to the . . approvmg agencIes. . Harold Hough asked about the phasing of the work. Mr. Sturm responded that the west side should be constructed first and the east side built sometime in the future. There is a requirement to build up the west side unless there is a rational way to move the rubble from the east spit over to the west breakwater. 2 · Councillor Holland asked what approvals are needed, how will access be obtained to the west breakwater over the TRCA property that is being leased to the Scudelleri's, what revenues are available to assist in the funding of this project and what are the timelines for completing this project. · Milo Sturm responded that the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the TRCA will be asked to comment on this project and submissions to those agencies will be made shortly. He hopes to get an exemption from Transport Canada for an approval under the Navigable Waters Act because the structures are already in place. If approval is needed from Transport Canada, there will be a need to advertise in the Canada Gazette and allow the public to comment on the plans. The TRCA will be required to give approval because it owns the adjacent water lot. · Harold Hough added that the Pickering Harbour Company will be providing some revenues for this project and other marinas will be asked to contribute because they will benefit from this project. He further suggested that funding could come from the City, the TRCA, and the Federal and Provincial Governments. He noted that if the Federal Government participates in the funding of this project, it will want ownership of the lands and the Pickering Harbour Company will be willing to turn these lands over to the Federal Government to get their participation. He suggested that the City should start to talk to the Federal and Provincial representatives about this project. · Councillor Holland asked how much funding is being sought outside ofthe Pickering Harbour Company and Harold Hough responded that about 90% of the funding would be from sources other than the Pickering Harbour Company. · Councillor Holland suggested that the Trillium Foundation may provide funding for this project and suggested that it would be better if the TRCA or some other agency held the lands in question in order to achieve a better relationship with the Federal Government. · Jacqueline Smart asked if all the funding was in place, what would be the timelines to complete this project. Milo Sturm responded that it could be commenced in the Fall after the boating season and completed in the Spring. · Jacqueline Smart further asked how many heavy trucks would use Liverpool Road to service this project. Milo Sturm responded that there are about 420 truckloads of rubble currently on the east side. The west side would need about 820 truckloads of rubble brought in and an equal amount of Armour stone. · Councillor Holland asked if the Armour stone could be brought in by water and Harold Hough responded that although this is possible, it would be more difficult and the project could be delayed ifthere was inclement weather. · Councillor Holland inquired into the cost of the project. Milo Sturm responded that it would cost $825,000 to complete the east side and this could be started this season. About $450,000 would be needed to get the project started. 3 · Jim Dike noted that ifthe approval of Transport Canada is needed, the public will be allowed one month to provide comments. He asked what will happen if there are negative comments. Milo Sturm responded that Transport Canada will only deal with comments respecting transportation issues only and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans will only consider comments that are relevant to that agency. · Councillor Ryan asked if this project was subject to a Federal environmental assessment process as opposed to a Provincial process and Milo Sturm responded that it was a Federal process. · Councillor Ryan asked if the number of boats using the channel was increased by the improvements made to the channel, would there be more funding. Harold Hough responded that he will be calling a meeting of other marina owners for the purpose of developing a funding formula possibly based on the number of boats using the channel. · Councillor Ryan further asked ifthere is a list of benefits to the community. Harold Hough responded that there are spin-off benefits from increased boaters using the area marinas. They are good tourists that will use local services. · Councillor Ryan asked if the breakwaters would be considered active or passive. Milo Sturm responded that the breakwater is not being designed for docking and Harold Hough added that free dockage does not help the marinas and boaters expect to pay for dockage. · Kevin Tower noted that Milo Sturm has been working on this project wince 1993. He felt that the Committee should determine if this project is necessary and if so, proceed with the entire project. If the project is done in phases, there could be a lack of commitment to finish it or it could become expensive. · Councillor McLean asked if it would be possible to provide a swing bridge in the project or at least the foundation for a swing bridge. Harold Hough responded that this would be very expensive and provide a danger to boaters and therefore there is no provision for a swing bridge. · Bernie Luttmer stated that the west breakwater should be done first because if the east side is completed first, it will only aggravate the sediment problem. He noted that his marina and the Frenchman's Bay Yacht Club operate in shallow water and this should be kept in mind ifthere is any dredging. The current channel is noted on charts as being dangerous and therefore a lot of boaters do not use it. There will be a large increase in boaters if the channel is upgraded. · Councillor Holland noted that as the Design Studies proceed, residents have commented that the marina operations must be successful and therefore the channel must be safe. · Milo Sturm agreed that it would be preferable to start on the west breakwater, however, there would not be a serious sediment problem if the east breakwater was started first. He noted that he worked on a project in Kincardine which involved making the harbour and channel larger and this project was successful and was fully funded by the municipality. · Bernie Luttmer stated that Bowmanville has a similar situation to that of Frenchman's Bay. 4 · Kevin Tower asked if the owners of the property, namely the Pickering Harbour Company, or the City have determined how much revenue will be achieved as a result of this project. Councillor Holland responded that it is difficult to quantify such revenue and could only be done by asking other harbour agencies what revenues they achieved through improvements. Jim Dike responded that he researched this issue through the Whitby Harbour and Bluffers Park and indicated that there would be a minimum of 500 boats coming into Frenchman's Bay which would patronize area businesses and could be reasonably expected to spend about $120 each day. · Councillor Holland asked that as this project moves forward that the Waterfront Coordinating Committee be kept informed of it progress. He noted that having a strong navigable harbour is important to Pickering. · Jacqueline Smart asked if Harold Hough was still interested in having slips that jut into the Bay. · The Director, Planning & Development asked if the breakwater will be accessible to the public. Milo Sturm responded that the Armour stone is rough but it could accommodate pedestrians but this would raise the cost of the project. · The Director, Operations & Emergency Services noted that a study is being commenced with respect to the remediation of Frenchman's Bay and asked if this study would be of assistance to this project. Milo Sturm responded that he would be willing to liaise with the University of Toronto on this. · Gary Peck asked if the harbour is deeper than the channel. Milo Sturm responded that there will be little difference in depth and that water will still circulate. · Mayor Arthurs asked what the next steps are to move this project along. Councillor Holland responded that Milo Sturm and Harold Hough will be meeting with representatives of the Federal and Provincial Governments and that the City should try to help advance this project. He further suggested that the Mayor and Members of Council set up meetings with Dan McTeague and Janet Ecker to show the City's interest in this project. · Jim Dike asked what the timing would be to be granted the permits to proceed with the project. Milo Sturm responded that the process would take about three to four months if all goes well. · Councillor Holland asked if the permits will have expiry dates. Milo Sturm responded that they will have expiry dates, however, they can apply for extensions. The meeting adjourned at 3:25 p.m.