|
|
|
|
     
|
Meeting Reports - You Tube Videos - History etc:
It was a "standing room" only turnout for the Feb. 22nd meeting of the CAN where Pierre Perrault of the Off-Leash Dog Park Committee is shown addressing those in attendance. A report on the meeting is below. Results of Minnow Lake CAN meeting – Feb. 22nd Minnow Lake Place. Attendance 45 including City Traffic Staff and Councillor Terry Kett The most concern about traffic in the area was about the uninterrupted volume of vehicles along the Howey, Bellevue, Bancroft corridor. There is only one stoplight along this approximately 5 kilometer in length route and no stop signs, and many drivers use this route as an alternative to the Kingsway. Speeding was not felt to be a problem, just the inability for many to enter the continuous stream of traffic at many times of the day. City traffic personnel who were in attendance did not offer any solutions to this problem. Poor signage was identified as a problem on the Bancroft from Belleuve intersection to the Kingway (and vice-versa) and it was felt that a stop sign should be located at the intersection of Bancroft and Lonsdale at the sight of a dangerous ill constructed curve which would help keep motorists from running of the road at this point due the roads reverse camber which councilor Terry Kett said is one of his priorities to be addressed and have corrected. City traffic staff said they would look at the signage situation. Councillor Kett also said one of his main priorities was to have the remaining section of Bancroft Drive from Leveque Street to Moonlight Ave reconstructed to the same standard as the rest of Bancroft Drive. This would not only improve one of the worst sections of road in the city but would complete the bike route lanes around Ramsey Lake. There was unanimous support for the proposed Off-leash dog park in the former gravel pit property off Second Avenue and all agreed that the city should approve the expenditure which includes previous city plans for a new access to the area and cleaning up of hazaderous waste on the property. These expenditures the group felt should not be included in the cost of the dog park which is estimated at only around $50,000 a relatively small amount when considering the overall benefits to the city in improving an admitted eye-sore in an area very much in public view as well as an asset for the more than 50,000 dog openers in the city who could make use of the facility. Further information: John Lindsay, Chair – 525-7526
Letter sent to all councillors concerning Off-Leash Dog Park
Dear Councillor: It is unfortunate that city staff “add on” expenses may jeopardize the development of Sudbury’s first off-leash dog park. Staff have included a new road entrance, already planned for the site and some waste removal, plus maintenance and signage as extra costs which should not be included as part of the project and have inflated the overall expense unnecessarily. These expenses not directly related to the off-leash project should be allocated to the departments concerned or otherwise expensed. An off-leash dog park was recommended in the city’s leisure plan and Minnow Lake Community Improvement report (both became part of the official plan) which mentioned use of the Second Ave former gravel pit property for leisure and/or recreational activity. This park would visually improve a present "eyesore" in a very visible heavily travelled area of our city and even including the extra costs would be money well spent. More people own dogs than play any sport - hockey, baseball, soccer etc. and we spend millions of dollars on these activities. A dog park would be a fraction of what we spend totally on leisure in the city and would benefit potentially many thousands of dog owners and their pets, plus other non dog owning citizens. 50,000 people in Sudbury own dogs. There are more dogs than kids in Sudbury. There are dozens of playground areas for kids – not one for dogs. Most cities have at least one, most several. The city built skateboard park cost almost a half million dollars and is just for kids. The projected cost for the off-leash area is less than a quarter of this figure and as now budgeted includes a new road entrance, a parking area, removal of some waste material, maintenance and fencing (about $50,000 which is the cost of the off-leash area, very reasonable as a couple of playground sets for kids can cost just as much). Park maintenance is budgeted at almost $7,000, a figure we question as the dog park committee has committed to perform most of this work. Also the $5,000 figure for signage is somewhat high as we believe we can have donations for this requirement. Most all other forms of leisure services - hockey, soccer, baseball etc. all cost much much more. This project is a leisure services "bargain". Dogs are not allowed "off-leash” anywhere by city by-law. A dog park allows people to have their dog off-leash legally. Many non dog people are uncomfortable with dogs off-leash in regular parks or on trails. Many older and/or disabled people cannot "walk” their dogs and an off-leash area gives their pets a place to exercise. Dogs deserve a place to play - they are our best friend. We have over 45 parks for people to run and play freely but not one for dogs To use a dog park a dog must be licenced - this would increase revenue. People visiting the city would have a place to take their dog(s) to play off-leash People would consider Sudbury a 'dog friendly" place and improve our image, especially for visitors and potential new residents. Dogs parks are a social place for people, even non dog owners. There is a citizens committee already formed to help administer the park and raise funds for future improvements etc. This off-leash area could be considered a pilot project for other areas of the city. Watch the short video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6vsCu_ciCA to see what residents of another city have to say about their off-leash dog park. The last City Council approved the off-leash area in principal and recommended staff work on a proposal. It is up to the present council to move forward to have the off-leash park be developed. Like the Ramsey Lake (Jim Gordon) boardwalk it will become a valuable city asset for years to come. John Lindsay Chair Minnow Lake CAN Visit our dog park committee website www.dogsoffleash.ca and www.minnowlake.ca
Past News: An all candidates meeting was held on Sunday October 10th 2010 at Minnow Lake Place: Candidates in attendance were Mike Petryna, Terry Kett, Joe Vairo and Tom Fenske. Gerry Pacquette sent regrets. Moderator was Carol Mulligan of the Sudbury Star.
Some concerns and questions from Residents 1. What would you do to protect our water supply (Lake Ramsey and watershed) from blue green algae including continued building (residential and otherwise) around our lakes? 2.What measures would you take to "calm traffic" in Minnow Lake including reduced speed limits along Howey, Bancroft and Bellevue in the winding sections of these roads around the lake near the recreational, church and shopping areas and the creation of bike lanes along Attlee Street in the New Sudbury section of the ward to help reduce traffic speeds and provide for cyclists? 3. Noise reduction - loud motor bikes, cars and trucks, squealing tires, speeding - what do you propose be done? 4. Would you propose a by-law to prevent clear cutting of land without a permit (like what happened in land south of the big box store development. 5. How would you support the proposed off-leash dog park for the Second Avenue former gravel pit location? 6 What would you do to support the arts including an arts section in a twice yearly community guide together with civic information and leisure and tourist activities etc. 7. What measures do you propose to reduce costs including freezing of councillors salaries, no special payment (other than expenses for other boards (Hydro) and freezing of pay for two years for all those staff earning over $100,000 a year and then limiting pay increases to no more than rate of inflation and no special bonus measures. 8. Do you support a management reporting session to council every month (replacing a priorities meeting) to learn what is actually happening in the various departments, identifying issues and possible problems to avoid being caught unawares as to situations and developments as often seems the case at present.
At combined meeting of the Restoration Group and Minnow Lake Community Action Network on March 31st 2010 is was decided to take action with respect to storm sewers contaminating the lake. For more information click here. It was also decided to go forward with plans to enhance the area with tree plantings and other endeavors as described below:
Outcomes of CAN meeting March 31st.
CAN Meeting - Wednesday January 27th - Minnow Lake Place - 7.00 p.m Over 20 people interested in the CAN proposal to develop an off-leash dog park for Sudbury attended and a sub-committee under interim chair Pierre Perreault was formed.
Pierre has received support from ward councillor Janet Gaspaini to determine action to be taken with respect to involvement of the City in the project. An e-mail contact list is being created to keep all those interested informed. If you have not contacted us yet by e-mail please add your name to the list by e-mailing Pierre at perreault_pierre@persona.ca. Meetings are scheduled to be held on the second and last Wednesday of each month. If you are on the e-mail list you will be advised of meetings. It is hoped to make a presentation to City Council by early summer. For more off leash dog area info click here Special: John Lindsay, Chair of Minnow Lake CAN congratulates Chris Gore, recipient of 2010 Community Builders Award for Sports and Recreation. Chris is the city's representative on the Minnow Lake CAN.
Photo by Erik Lovin
Notes on CAN meeting - Monday Nov. 9th 09 Meet the Councillor - Janet Gasparini Many of the topics that were discussed at the previous CAN "What's Happening in Minnow Lake" meeting on Sept. 22nd were reviewed at this special meeting with Councillor Janet Gasparini (who could not attend the September meeting). There was information on the proposed "off leash" dog park for the old gravel pit site on Second Avenue and a possible "sand mountain" kids play area in the same location. A subcommittee was formed. If you would like to be part of this group please send an e-mail to info.minnowlake@gmail.com or call CAN Chair John Lindsay at 525-7526
Minnow Lake CAN and MLRG News: Report from CAN "What's Happening" Meeting - Sept. 22nd 2009 Presentation and Minutes of Meeting Held at Minnow Lake Place "Official Plan" Map of Minnow Lake Area showing by colour various "development" areas - yellow is residential zoned - green is park area - red areas are commercial and/or institutional.
Constable Randy Hoskin of the Community Policing Section of the Greater Sudbury Police Service answering questions and concerns at the "What's Happening" meeting. Constable Gasparini was unable to attend but a follow up meeting at which she can be present is planned. Below is text of the material prepared for the meeting which was presented by CAN Chair John Lindsay. The Minnow Lake Area of Greater Sudbury is considered by most of its residents to be the area along the Howey - Bellevue and Bancroft corridor between the Kingsway and the north shore of Lake Ramsey. The small lake from which the area gets its name is about in the geographical centre. The population of the area is about 22,000. There is a variety of housing and commercial developments and a number of recreational facilities. There is still a considerable amount of undeveloped land in the area which in general is fully serviced. This report will attempt to answer a number of questions on various topics from area residents with respect to the future of the Minnow Lake area. This report has been developed by the Minnow Lake Community Action Network with input from city officials and Councillor Janet Gasparini. Will Blueberry Hill become a development? Who owns Blueberry Hill? Blueberry Hill is owned by the Conservation Authority and leased to the city. Besides the hill itself, the Carmichael Arena, baseball fields, tennis courts, and skateboard park. The parcel immediately east is owned by Arg-Devco (Interpaving) and the abutting parcel to the north is owned by a numbered company; The city has a development application for that parcel. Will Carmichael Arena be closed? Will the Arena be "twinned" While there have been old proposals to twin this site (1998) there is nothing in the works for either twinning or closure at present. Will the tennis courts be removed on the Carmichael property? Given that there are not many other courts in the immediate area it would be in the best interests of the community to keep them in place. What will happen to former hockey building next to skateboard park Could be used for skateboard or youth programming activities – Needs upgrading. Will the cemetery be enlarged? City acquired former soccer field at school for expansion in future. New mausoleum 2010. What will become of former gravel pit? The former gravel pit area is owned by the City.....given soil conditions on this property, it is not certain what can be developed – unlikely stores, not suitable for soccer, perhaps “dog park” or mountain bike “course” How big is the new big box development going to be? When will the rock blasting and crushing stop? Lowe's is in the order of 150,000 square feet, and the future phases can accommodate approximately another 200,000 square feet. The only part of the project for which the city has issued permits is Lowe's; the remainder of the development will no doubt rely on market conditions, and the ability of the developer to obtain tenants. It is expected that physical site development (blasting and crushing) will end fairly soon. All the trees were removed on property from the new big box stores down to Barry Street? What is the zoning for this property? Are there plans for development in this area? This property is zoned "PS", Private Open Space, and is designated "Living Area 1" under the Official Plan. The owner has indicated that the trees have been removed in anticipation of a future development application; however, the city has not yet received an application. Are there plans for a new street to connect the big box area to Bancroft Drive or Second Avenue and where? The City's Official Plan shows a road connection from the big box area, ending at the existing intersection of Bancroft Drive and Bellevue Avenue. At the north end, the road will connect to the Kingsway at the existing entrance near Chapters. There are currently no plans to connect to Second Avenue. Will second avenue ever get upgraded and with bike lanes? The rest of Bancroft? The Official Plan indicates that appropriate road ways should be considered for bike lanes or paths when reconstruction is underway. Second Avenue would be a good prospect for lanes given the sites it accesses and the north south orientation. All new and reconstructed road work depends on budget allocations. New developments in the area could promote better roads. What residential developments have been approved for the Minnow Lake Area and where? There are still outstanding phases to be completed in the Greenwood Dr. area, including a new subdivision draft approval for a Dalron project off Greenwood Dr. Zulich has a considerable amount of land remaining to be developed in the Lion's Gate subdivision on the north side of Bancroft, which will eventually connect to Kingsway; and Belanger has draft approval for a subdivision east of Third Ave. The city is also processing applications for a new major residential project on the south side of Bancroft, just east of Moonlight. What is the old high school on Second Avenue going to be? The school is tentatively being developed as residential and they are required to have adequate parking allocated prior to proceeding. There have been some discussions with city staff regarding this parking issue Will any playgrounds be closed? Will any new playgrounds be open in new developments? Of the existing playgrounds in the area there are no plans to close any. There are however plans to install play equipment on the Second Avenue site near Korpela Park when budgets permit. In addition there have been negotiations with both Belanger (Keystone Subdivision 3rd Ave) and Dalron (Howey/Cartier subdivision) to develop previous parkland dedications and to combine these with the 5% allocations required by developers as part of these new subdivisions What are the new rules for backyard burning? What are the new noise bylaws - control of noisy motorbikes - neighbors etc? 6 metres 20 feet from property line or buildings (means virtually no property should have back yard burning) Noise by-law being formulated for whole city – Intrusive nuisance noise (other than lawn mowing – home repair work – some cities do not allow even on Sunday) not permitted at any time (neighbors boom boxes – loud parties etc.) Need for by-law enforcement “after hours” when most infractions occur. Could be budget proposal? Request police to stop and “test” motorbikes for “straight” pipes causing excessive noise? Are there any traffic calming measures planned for the Bancroft - Bellevue - Howey corridor similar to Southview Drive? The Bancroft/Bellevue/Howey corridor is designated as a secondary arterial road in the City's Official Plan. In accordance with the approved Traffic Calming Policy, traffic calming is not appropriate for these higher function arterial roads. However, the existing bike lanes do act as a traffic calming measure by keeping the lane widths narrow. Possibly more traffic lights along corridor in future, with increased development, could benefit, by making Kingsway more attractive. What measures can be taken to reduce graffiti? City staff respond to graffiti on City buildings and
try to deal with offensive graffiti in terms of removal and clean up. The
police are still working on apprehending offenders as well although no by
laws have been passed to specifically address offenders or expectations
for businesses to remove graffiti from their sites. Complaints of
graffiti should be directed to the Greater Sudbury Police Services.
Possible crime stoppers By-law enforcement: Property standards do exist. By-law officers will respond to citizen complaints by calling 311. Other: Indoor walking Check physical activities program at Minnow Lake Place – Schools. Shopping Centres have programs. For other questions please contact Concillor Janet Gasparini at janet.gasparini@city.greatersudbury.ca If you would like to be put on the Minnow Lake CAN e-mail list for notices of future meetings and events please send an e-mail to can.minnowlake@gmail.com or call John Lindsay at 525-7526.
Note: Minutes of this meeting will be posted when prepared.
Minnow Lake Newsletter distributed to lakeside residents in July of 2009 click here Copy of "Protect Our Lakes" pamphlet click here. 2008 Presentation to Sudbury City Council - plus December meeting presentation agenda (pdf) file. This report (with pictures) formed the basis of the 2008 General Meeting of the Restoration Group. It reviewed all the accomplishments of the CAN (and Restoration group) to date and the continuing work and concerns. In the CAN portion of the meeting it was decided to have elections at a CAN meeting in the new year. February of 2009 was picked as the best date. At the CAN meeting in January nominations were held (but additional nominations will be accepted up to and including the meeting on Wednesday Feb. 25th) Currently nominated are John Lindsay - Chair. Louise Marcotte - Vice Chair. Linda Cartier - Secretary and Bob King - Treasurer. This meeting will be held at Minnow Lake Place at 7.00 p.m - Wednesday Feb. 25th and will be announced in the newspaper and radio etc. We now have a "YouTube" site www.youtube.com/minnowlakecan where we have posted the videos you can click on here. The most recent shows the start of a Rainbow Routes sponsored group hike/climb up both the Oak Forest and Blueberry Hill on May 2nd 2009. The second video is a copy of the presentation made to Sudbury city council in 1989 to gain support for work of the Restoration Group and urge creation and official recognition of the waterfront and hilltop parks. The video also shows one of the first projects to monitor lake water quality. The second video shows climbs up Blueberry Hill and the Oak Forest (with Dr. Dave Pearson as guide). Both videos are less than 10 minutes in length and provide a "history lesson" as to what has taken place over the years. Additional videos will be added to bring the "history" up to the present. Your comments and suggestions are welcome.
Local Zoning Issue Resolved - Church Property Rezoning
Minutes of CAN and MLRG meeting of Nov. 18th 2007 Agenda and Presentation in PDF Prior to meeting presentation held to dedicate Minnow Lake Lions Park (see story above) 2.00 p.m.
John Lindsay chair of Minnow Lake Restoration Group and co-chair (with Bob
King) of Community Action Network called meeting to order in the Gym at
Minnow Lake Place. Agenda presented and approved. Minutes from
last annual meeting (2006 see further below) reviewed in conjunction with
presentation and were approved. Financial report presented by
Treasurer Bev Duguay and approved. Bob King approved as new
Treasurer.
Several presentations made by community groups, playgrounds and Minnow Lake Lions in attendance plus representatives from Pope Pius 13th and Adamsdale Public School. Members in attendance expressed concern over increased traffic, dogs "soiling" local trails, lack of affordable housing, rezoning of former church property on Bellevue etc. Councillor Gasparini responded to concerns over traffic control (speed limits etc) and other issues raised and expressed as did co-chair Bob King the need for more active members on the Community Action Network. Several individuals volunteered to participate. Specific on-going issues and new concerns included: Stairs on Portage to Ramsey Lake - steel stairs are in the budget. Minnow Lake "boardwalk" repairs still needed. Geese at Moonlight Beach continue to be problem - ACANs could speak to this city wide problem. Should be better bike trail or route down to Moonlight Beach. Also work needs to be done on trail between Minnow Lake Place and Hillside (large rock needs to be "modified" or way around). This issue to be brought to Rainbow Routes. Second Ave gravel pit not suitable for soccer fields (ground not stable). Perhaps could be used as "dog park". Former playground and NOHA building on Carmichael property likely to be removed (not in good shape). Corpala Park on Second Ave. not being kept up. Dalron to be approached. Councillor will attend meeting to oppose industrial use of former French church on Bellevue Councillor to work on traffic committee to answer residents concerns in response to resistance to traffic dept. Councillor will monitor "pitch-in" Civic Pride clean up campaign by waster management staff Written minutes, motions, attendance etc in pdf click here Meeting adjourned at 3:15 p.m.
Park dedicated to Minnow Lake Lions
|
waterfront
which leads into the Oak Forest Lookout Park (next to the new park area -
three hikers shown on the trail in picture at left. This trail (and the
blueberry hill trail are recognized by a new sign at the entrance to the
park off Bancroft Drive at Minnow Lake Place). The Oak Forest
hike takes about an hour for more information go on the Internet web site
to 
