Rotary Club of Barrie recognized for support of Tiffin Centre

Release from the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority

The board recognized the long-standing relationship between the Rotary Club of Barrie and the Tiffin Centre for Conservation by renaming the Tiffin Group Campground to the Rotary Group Campground.

Through the Spring Tonic Festival and other initiatives, the Rotary Club has long offered financial assistance to the Tiffin Centre.

The board approved an expansion to NVCA’s hunting program.  Currently, hunting is allowed on NVCA-owned properties in the Osprey and Minesing Wetlands provided hunters have an NVCA permit, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters membership and a valid provincial hunting license.  The expansion will see additional lands available for bow hunting only during the deer and turkey hunting season.  A lottery system will be used to limit the number of hunters to approximately 4 hunters per 100 acres. This more exclusive use will come at a higher price than a traditional NVCA hunting pass.  Staff plan to implement this change on one property in 2015, and then move forward accordingly.

The board also approved a process to review NVCA’s planning fee schedule. This process will see the creation of a stakeholder committee comprising representatives from the agriculture, building/development, the aggregate industry, customers at large and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Input will be sought at several stages in the process from all groups, including NVCA member municipalities.

This review is one of several endorsed by the board as part of the NVCA Planning Department’s continuous improvement process.  Other actions include improving communications with member municipalities and exploring opportunities to streamline the planning process to avoid duplication and overlap.

Jason Reynar, Deputy CAO/Town Solicitor for the Town of Innisfil (left), provided the board with information on meeting protocols for closed sessions.

At the meeting, board members received a copy of Conservation Ontario’s new publication, Protecting our Future: Ontario Provincial Plans and Conservation Authorities.

This six-page document summarizes the role conservation authorities play in meeting the goals and objectives of the Greenbelt Plan, Niagara Escarpment Plan, Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe and Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan. For copies, contact NVCA or view online at conservation-ontario.on.ca.

During this meeting, the board also:

·         Received the 2014 NVCA Financial Statements as presented by KPMG LLP Chartered Accountants (these will be available online at nvca.on.ca/about/PlansFinancials in the coming weeks).

·         Approved a Memorandum of Understanding between NVCA and Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority regarding technical and administrative support roles associated with the Source Water Protection Plan Initiative.

·         Approved a review of the staffing and costs of NVCA’s Environmental Education program, which offers programming to more than 11,000 students annually.

For more information

D. Gayle Wood, CAO, gwood@nvca.on.ca, 705-424-1479 ext. 225

For the full meeting agenda including documents and reports, visit the NVCA website at nvca.on.ca/about/boardofdirectors.