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03 13 1997 Sp Public ~:¡ Ii !i II II ii " II :, !I II I II II Ii Ii 'I II : !! ii ;! !t I, THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF ORO-MEDONTE SPECIAL PUBLIC MEETING THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 1997 @ 7:00 P.M. - COUNCIL CHAMBERS 'NE HUNDRED & FIRST MEETING 1994-1997 COUNCIL I the following members of Council were present: II il I! Mayor Ian Beard II Deputy Mayor Murray Martin II !I Councillor Walter Dickie I! Ii Councillor Don Bell :, II Councillor Neil Craig Ii Councillor Thelma Halfacre Ii Councillor Ron Sommers II 'taft Present: II II II Ii ~Iso Present Were: II !I Ii !! 1\ if Ii II ii !I II Ii I, !I !i II II II I II II 'I II II II II :, rayor Ian Beard chaired the meeting. ~otion #1 ~oved by Craig, seconded by Halfacre. II þe it resolved that the Agenda for Special Council Meeting dated Thursday, March 13, 1~997 be adopted. . Ii Carned II I~ayor Ian Beard opened the meeting and welcomed those present. Deborah IBroderick, Director Recreation & Community Economic Development gave a brief ~escription of the rail line after which the deputations followed: II Kim Allen, Parks & Recreation Manager; DebbieBroderick, Director of Recreation & Community Economic Development; Jennifer Zieleniewski, CAOffreasurer. J. Groot, Alice Groot, Basil Hogendoorn, Thelma Hogendoorn, Eileen Murray, Bob Murray, Wilf McMechan, Walter Hayward, Bob Greer, Sandra Kowal, Sharon L. Jenkins, Karen Sanderson, Sherry Birch-Bailey, Eileen Anderson, Barb Sinton, Christine Tiffin, Bruce Tiffin, Shirley Chew, Andy & Jani te Nyenhuis, Marjorie Bell, Dorothy Hesser, John & Rosemary Dunsmore, Rod Raikes, Heather Raikes, Gail Raikes, Evelyn Perdue, David Knox, June Beard, George Johnstone, Brenda Jonstone, Arch Brown, Jack Holden, Derek Anderson, Gary Thiess, Keith Caldwell, Mary Caldwell, George Lucas, Roy Campbell, Edna Caldwell. II I~osemary Dunsmore: ilVlayor Beard and Oro-Medonte Councilors. I am Rosemary Dunsmore, I am 'representing the Oro-Medonte Trails Association, but speaking personally as a trail Üser. I II I~ohn and I were at the official opening of the Barrie Bike Path. I must emphasize the II Ii II iI i¡ II !! -Ii , : I !I II ,I II 2 ~ord Bike Path because that is what it was built for. Barrie had no idea that it would be it ~sed to the extent it is today by walkers. It is now so busy that sometimes it is too Qrowded to bike on. Ii ~hen I look at a population map of Oro-Medonte I see the corridor along the Ridge ~oad to the lake extending from Barrie to Orillia as heavily populated, and I look at the mew Official Plan, with projected growth in the Hawkestone area. I know a trail on the ~N line would be used as a recreational trail. I have already seen walkers, bikers, ~ross country skiers, a dog team and snowmobiles using it. " III have lived in the area of the 1 st of Oro-Medonte and the Ridge Road all my life and I ~ave seen the road change from a quiet rural road to a busy, busy thoroughfare. One frinter I saw where five cars had gone into the ditch in a one-mile stretch - and that was ~nough to convince me that I no longer walk on the Ridge Road. I still have to bike on i~ and that is not an enjoyable experience. Early Sunday morning is the best time and We see many cyclists out then. Having biked on trails too, I can tell you there is no qomparison between on-road and off-road usage. It is just like night and day. ,í it Throughout the year I walk, cross-country ski or bike almost every day, so I know the ~enefits of walking, for the body and the soul. Many times over I hear members of the ~ro-Medonte Trails say how much they enjoyed the outing - and we go in all kinds of weather and any time of the day - morning, noon or night. I have seen my brother ~ecover from major surgery by walking - at first very short distances and now he'll come ih and say, "I walked four miles today," and he is grinning from ear to ear. We have all , ~atched a child take that first step and delighted in the joy of the moment. Walking is #omething that all ages can do. We can go at our own speed, set our own goals and t\nost of us can do it all our lives. I believe in the benefits of walking. To me cross ~ountry skiing and biking are extensions of walking. I have been fortunate that I can do $11 these activities outside my back door and this is what I want for the people of Oro- ~edonte Township - to enjoy these same activities in their own back yard. Today, ~omorrow and in the future. I can envision this if the CN line is purchased for a trail today. I know residents from Oro-Medonte drive to Barrie to walk or bike on the ~athway. ,¡ " II would like to speak about the trails in or near Simcoe County that I have been on. All ~hese trails are on abandoned rail lines. The Lightfoot Trail in Orillia and the Georgian Wrail from Collingwood to Meaford are both "no motorized vehicles allowed" type of trails. The Uhthoff Trail out of Orillia is a shared-use trail in some sections only. The ~nowmobiles use sections where it links existing trails. !! , ¡[he North Simcoe Rail-trail in Springwater Township is a totally shared-use trail. It is ~arked on the Ontario Federation of Snowmobilers' Association Map. I Let us remember these three options are open for discussion after the land is purchased for a trail. Ií i am not against Ora-Medonte residents using the proposed trail for snowmobiles as a, p,eans of reaching other snowmobile trails. After a heavy snow, It IS nice to have a trail þacked by a snowmobile. However, I am not in favour of the Oro-Medonte Trail being ~ut on the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Map. 'í IÄII of these trails I have mentioned have been made and maintai~ed by 'public funds - ~hrough donations, fund raising and hard work. Along the Georgian Trail there are I~tones with brass plaques on them stating this kilometer is sponsored by a club ego Ilion's Club, or a family or a business ego furniture store, a ski club, etc. I have had Itesidents of Oro-Medonte say that they would support a trail if the CN line. becomes iþne. John and I are holding funds from two estates to be donated to chanty, an~ lþecause we believe in trails, our first choice is to donate to the Oro-Medonte Trail. II i1rhis is a once in a life time opportunity - it will never be available again for a i' :1 ,I II I ! - II II í, II II ~~creational trail. Now is the time to act. O:hers have done it - so can we. Ii II II Ii lilhope you, as our Council, will see fit to purchase it for a trail. Ii IW it becomes a trail, I know there will be many meetings required to work out each ~ection to the satisfaction of the trail users and the land owners. The big goal is to keep i~ in tact for all the people of Oro-Medonte for a recreational trail. the issue before us is not for or against snowmobiles. It is to buy or not to buy the land fbr a recreational trail. II II lilwill support it 100% and you have the support of the Oro-Medonte Trails Association ~nd many other people in the Township. I will end with a name suggestion for our trail. ¡1'The Lake Ridge Trail". Thank you. Rosemary Dunsmore. I Ii tob Murray: II thank-you Mayor. Submission to Oro-Medonte Township Council. My name is Bob ~urray. I am speaking for myself and my wife Eileen. We are property owners at the ~Oth of Oro and the Ridge Road, with 2550 feet along the rail line. II Ii Ilwouid like to preface my remarks with the caveat that our comments and questions ~re at best preliminary. They are based on articles published in the Orillia Packet & times and on conversations with other Township residents. I have also been privileged tþ represent the Oro District Lions Club at the Rails to Trails presentation to Council, fnd at the Parks and Recreation meeting held in 1996. " I' pur prime concern is that the land in question be maintained as an intact parcel. We fould suggest that its greatest value is that of a service corridor. The land links some ~f the more populated areas of the Township. To reassemble it at a future date for transportation, communication, or sanitary services may prove difficult if not impossible. Ii II '(lie would not be interested in attaining title to the portion adjacent to our property. II II ~s landowners with livestock at graze, we will expect that the municipality and/or the W. ser group(s) will be responsible for the post and wire fence previously belonging to the ~ailway. This, we are told, is the case in other municipalities. i the ultimate use that the land is put to would, we assume, be settled between the Ijnunicipality and the owner(s), with the normal zoning and bylaw procedures to be fpllowed. As adjoining landowners, we expect to be notified in writing and given the ~ormal access to the approval process. II VNe regards to motorized vehicle access, we would suggest a complete ban. We agree \Jvith the landowners whose houses back onto the rail lands that motorized vehicles ~unning at all hours of the day and night are completely different than the predictable ~oises that the trains made. Ii 'I Wve also have some questions which we would like answered: II ri will horseback riding be allowed? ~ will small game and deer hunting be allowed? 1 will a curfew be put in place if motorized vehicles are allowed? ~ how would the land be maintained and fire hazards controlled? ~ what policing and reporting procedures would be needed? I, ,í [In closing, we thank Council for this opportunity to express our initial o~inions. ",!e *.ecommend to Council that if any organized user group(s) wis~ to become Involved with ~he use of this land, then the adjacent landowners and all Interested ratepayers be ~nvited to an information sharing meeting prior to any decision making. The cost of ~uch a meeting should be born by the user group(s), with Council expediting the II :¡ 'I II II II ¡i , II II II II 4 ~otification process. Respectfully submitted, Bob Murray. II ~ruce Tiffin: II ~ayor Beard and Councilors. My name is Bruce Tiffin. I am here tonight to voice my ~trong objections to the proposed use of the abandoned CN line as a trail. i ~y wife Christine and I live adjacent to the line between Colbourne Street and penetanguishene Road. The line is 40 feet from our front door and elevated 12 feet 'I ,åbove our lot. í :I ~y first, and obvious objection, is the total lack of privacy from any persons using the ~N property. Many residences abut the line - we're not talking fields and forest here, ~e're talking backyards of family homes along this proposed trail. Not only is all privacy 'lost but, more important, security is threatened. The safety and security of family ~omes is put at risk if this path is allowed. How would you like to be in your home at ~ight and have a dark, unpatrolled corridor with access to your back door? Crime is bad enough now as we have personally had numerous break-ins, as have many other ~esidents along the corridor. A path will only make it easier - criminals can case properties allowing access and egress -it's unlighted and it's unpatrolled. I I ~y second objection involves costs. As it is, we as taxpayers, will be losing the tax Ipase from the line and many would want Oro-Medonte to purchase the CN land. Ii Ii f,t a time of downloading, cost-cutting and tax increases, the added expense of ¡þurchasing, insuring, maintaining and policing a trail is ludicrous. There are adequate ¡fecreational areas existing in the Township. I' íi ¡Finally, it is my belief that Oro-Medonte's Official Plan was to maintain quality of life for 1I',,'ts residents, I fail to see how ruining many families' privacy and security to provide a ~rail that we don't need falls into this category. 'I rve don't want a trail and we don't need a trail. We need tax revenue and the means to Ip"aintain the rural quality of our lives. Thank you. íi II !~velyn Perdue: II ¡Mayor Beard and Councilors. Although I am speaking as an individual I am also ¡representing people that I have talked to about this issue. Ii II would like to preface my remarks tonight with a caution. I fear that public input on an ¡Issue when there is no financial or feasibility report to examine and specifically Iteference, can elicit emotional and "gut" responses, rather than a sober reflection and ¡þssessment of the pros and cons. I say this, as a background not only to my lþomments, but to all presentations you will hear over the two sessions. That said, I will þroceed with my comments. I " i$ince first learning of the abandonment of the rail lines through Oro-Medonte, my first Ireaction was excitement. Here finally we could join the ranks of so many innovative ¡and progressive communities like Orillia and Peterborough, who have demonstrated Ibutstanding cooperative efforts with groups and industry across Ontario and indeed :~anada, to establish significant trails through our communities. ,¡ Ibtill the current economic times and financial uncertainty in the Township have troubled ¡h,e: and with these thoughts come the arguments that I hear against the rail line lþurchase which will no doubt be mentioned tonight and next Saturday. What are the 'costs? What about liability? Why shouldn't the property revert back to the owners of 16butting property? What if people venture off the trail? Who would use or abuse it? IWould motorized vehicles be allowed? What maintenance will be required? How can 6ny expense be justified in this era of cutbacks? Will my taxes go up? I Ii II " ,¡ I 'II II II Ii II II II ¡! il 5 Iii mention these issues briefly, as an acknowledgment that they are valid issues that r!h,ust be addressed honestly and competently. II $ut that is not the question that is being asked tonight, to my understanding. Should ~ouncil proceed to investigate the purchase of the abandoned rail lines? My approach If' a problem or issue such as this, in my personal and professional life, is that if it is the ~,ght thing to do, we can find a way to make it happen. Ii d ~I believe that purchasing the rail lines is the right thing to do, and we can make it ~appen in a way that is acceptable to all residents. ,I II II ~i II Ii II Ii II " II ¡¡ It is the right thing to do because it is consistent with the Official Plan of the Township, a thoughtful document that was designed to guide Council in making just this type of decision. Ii II ] I' iI II .¡.¡ I! I¡ II Ii I. II jí ~ 1,1 I II II It is the right thing to do because it is consistent with the trend across Canada to make our land accessible to all residents equally. It is the right thing to do because it would reinforce development which enhances the rural and natural profile of the Township. It is the right thing to do because acquiring this land is as desirable and necessary as ensuring that developers allocate parkland in a subdivision, or providing shoreline access to all Township residents. It is the right thing to do because it would relieve the treacherous Shanty Bay/Ridge Road stretch of pedestrian and bicycle traffic competing with motorized vehicles. II ~ il II 'i íi Ii ~ II II í: :' It is the right thing to do because we need a healthy focus for the energy of our growing children without relying solely on neighbouring cities to provide their entertainment. It is the right thing to do for our seniors to have a safe and relaxing environment for exercise and camaraderie. It is the right thing to do because it provides a valuable resource for a family adventure. iI 1 I. iI It is the right thing to do because it provides a link to our municipal neighbours who have already set a high standard in pedestrian and bike accessibility. I U " Ii il II II H Ii II rNot all decisions can be made by whether or not a toll gate provides a balanced income ~o the expense. So far, it is not clear who will bear which part of the expense, what the ~xpenses actually are, or who will reap any benefits. The projections of tourism dollars ~re complex, and go much beyond whether a store or a restaurant is immediately ~vailable on the pathway. 1 Ii ~n my personal experience on a regular basis my family, and others like us, will drive to prillia to make use of the ~o~rdwalk or Lightfoot Trails. We cannot ~urchas~ anything bn the trail, or pay an admission fee, but almost assuredly we may dine, decide to stay ~or a movie, and pick up a few supplies on the way in or out of town. We will travel to ~arrie to bike, walk or roller blade on the waterfront, and a~ain drop a few d~lI~rs while ~here, dollars that have been redirected out of our community. How absurd IS It that we !tvill drive out of a rural area to be sure to have a safe natural walkway for our family? the Ridge Road and the concessions are much too hazardous for a young family to ~alk or bike. Ii I! It have some concerns about what would happen to the land if we do not purchase it as II <I Ii II II II Ii II It is the right thing to do because this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. II II II Ii I, II 6 ~ Township. Might it go to the same uses with private ownership and out of public qþntrol? This side of the issue should be explored. II !! I:!cannot believe that the purchase of this land necessarily equals an increase in taxes. lilbelieve that we have intelligent and creative community resources to make this ijappen without an impact on taxes. In a half an hour on the Internet, I have collected ~n incredible list of resources in Ontario and around North America, from communities vtfho have led the way in the process. II ~ather than negatively looking for reasons that it could not or should not work, we ~Ihould embrace this unique opportunity to look towards the future for recreation and ~ealthy lifestyles which would enhance the safety and appeal to the Township in ~ccordance with the Official Plan. It is the right thing to do, and we can do it. II fltod Raikes: II !, Ii !Iease find enclosed a sketch showing our lands in Lot 1 , Concession 1, and portion of ~.N. Lands we would like to acquire. Ii V¡Je would like to acquire this portion of the CN as most of our lake shore property is I~nd locked and not accessible from a public road. The acquisition of these lands ~ould make our property accessible from the Township Road connecting to Line 1, ~eneath the County Bridge as shown on the sketch. ~istoriCaIlY, my great grandfather sold this land to the railway in 1871. It was important fOr the nation to have this service available. !I lip 1997 we find that owning more lake shore than we need has proven only to be a tax ~urden, and having road access would alleviate this problem. Ii I <1>ur family does enjoy hiking and cross-country skiing and regularly use the County I#orest and Ganaraska Trail in Oro, which are certainly more picturesque than the ,*ailway Lands. II *,e would prefer to own this part of the CN lands for the reasons given above. Ii John Holden: ¡: ~r. Mayor, Councilors: I would like to make the following points: I' ~. II I II ,I , !I Is the Township considering selling sections of the right of way to owners of adjacent properties? My property goes from Sideroad 5/6 to the Range Road, a distance of approximately 735 meters, and the railway line runs right through this property, not just along one edge of it, so this is important to me. I would be interested in buying if the price was reasonable, and I would presume that it would be calculated on a pro-rated basis, relative to the total amount paid to the CNR. II I, " II 'I Ii ~. ,I II 'I If the Township is not interested in selling, is it prepared to take on the liabilities previously assumed by the CNR. e.g. maintenance of fences alongside our fields, and responsibility for weed control and drain clearance along the right of way. Beyond this, there might be problems from random traffic along the right of way when farm vehicles are using our farm land. I am conc~rned about th~ . possibility of accidents and would like to know if the Township has taken this Into consideration. ,í " ! H I !I $. !I I! , It the Township is not going to sell sections to adjacent owners, I hope the right of way would at least be kept under the control of the Township. While some private groups have admirable ideas for using this right of way, such groups can disintegrate. The best use would be to restrict it for walking or cycling, with all motorized traffic being declared illegal. 'I I II íl I' II ,í , ,I :i :1 Ii " :1 II II ¡I II II ,< : ~arb Sinton: II ~ood evening Mr. Mayor and Councilors. I speak tonight as a very concerned taxpayer. lhe following are some of the facts that will be relevant to Council members and Oro- "tfIedonte taxpayers. n 11. 7 ,I :: As a taxpayer I am concerned that our Township should be spending money on our roads not "Rails to Trails". Rails to Trails will only benefit a small percentage of Oro-Medonte taxpayers. I do not believe the people north of Highway 11 will take the extra time to go to the south end of the Township for a walk, bike ride, snowmobile or all terrain bicycle ride. There are many trails north along Highway 11. II , II I! :1 I! II 21. The lost tax revenue to the Township if these lands are acquired for public use, rather than turned into private use, will be substantial. In rough calculation the railroad bed from Oro-Medonte Town line/Barrie to Orillia is approximately 10 acres of land, some of which is residential. In rough calculation this equates to approximately $10,000.00 a year or $100,000 in 10 years of tax revenue for the Township. Which you would not be receiving. :1 II Ir <I " ,< " I! Ii ~. :1 It is not in the public interest to bring lands into public ownership that cannot be adequately protected by police service. There will be no access for the police as abutting landowners will be forced to fence the Rails to Trails for the protection of their own properties. These fences will further reduce the "eye on the street" of neighbourhood watch. II II 4. 'I ¡[ ¡[ :1 II ,I $. Ii , d '! Opening these areas formally to the public will create a greater potential for illegal activity. As a consequence, any activity on these lands is extremely intrusive during both day and night. Safety of "Rails to Trails" for people and motorized vehicles (ie. cars, trucks and school buses) using the same space on the road at intersections on concession roads. Lighting at intersections would be extremely costly to the Township and would also raise the question of liability and maintenance. II 1< !I I' ~. Security for residential homes and property abutting the land in question will be drastically reduced. II I I' II thank you in advance for your consideration to the above comments. !! Ii ~r closing I have been asked to read a letter from the Simcoe County School Bus ~perators' Association. Ii f,', he operators of our association ha.ve a ~oncern with the Township allowin~ motorized ê>ff-road vehicles such as snowmobiles, bikes and A TVs to use the old CN line. These vehicles can travel at speeds of over 100 miles/hour, and many individuals that operate them, lack the respect for the potential killer force they are riding. i ~aidlaw, Allandale School Transit and Sinton Bus Lines all operate 29 routes each lJnorning and afternoon, carrying approximately 1,450 school children over these ~nprotected crossings each day. A single Laidlaw route crosses this line 12 times per ~ay alone. Also we can not forget about the general public that crosses the line. ;i ~he Township is currently policed by the Ontario Provincial Police Force, whom I ~nderstand will not be adding any additional man power to ensure any such trail will have a police presence. " I! ,I pur association feels that letting motorized off-road vehicles, cross the roads ~nprotected, is asking for an accident to happen. II I ¡J ¡[ ! II 'i !! , il !¡ II ![ II !¡ I: I II I, !I 8 Ii lip c~o~ing o~r association would ask th.at you consider the above when making a ~eclslon. Signed: Respectfully Stan Sinton, Chairman. II II ~ary Thiess: II !¡ ~r. Mayor and members of Council. Thank you for the opportunity of being with you this ~vening. II \Nhen one thinks of a rail corridor through Oro-Medonte, the analogy of a Quebec in ~anada comes to mind. No matter how the politicians of the day screw with the ~oundaries the geographic location remains the same. Personally I would like to see ~uebec in Canada, and locally I would support a passive transportation corridor in tact ~br the Municipality, if for no other reason than the asset value is highest as a whole ~nit. The other advantages are only related to public interests and the preservation of ijatural beauty. Ii ~t another time and another place the council of the day was faced with the dilemma of ~n abandoned railway whose fences were no longer continuous because of washed out ~ridges and finally the rail bed itself deemed hazardous, its composition waste steel, #Iag considered unacceptable as fill and therefore very expensive to relocate. i' 'I the Uthoff Trail was created on the abandoned C.P. right-of-way through the close ~ooperation of a Council that sought and got Snowmobile Trail Riders, environmental , roups and most importantly adjacent land owners. It was a hard sell with the latter roup but a one-year trial period brought all of the factions together sufficiently to nable the postponement of fencing the corridor, a major expense. As one of the more , ocal opponents who later became a strong advocate at the trail opening exclaimed I lithe fence would keep me from going for a walk." Ii Ii tY1r. Mayor and members of Council, you have just spent two and a half years ~eveloping an Official Plan and you are about to embark on a Zoning By-law. I would ~ope that the transportation corridor, that once was a railroad, has remained continuous $nd in accordance with your policy, rejecting severance, it will continue to remain *,hole. 'I !I í¡ 'In summation I would like to report that I spent an hour walking last weekend from the ¡rown line to my concession, Woodland Drive. On that walk I observed that the fences ~eemed in good repair, the bridge abutments appeared to be probably as good, if not \better, than the ones on our concession. (they are about the same width too.) '! 'I ~ayor Beard, members of Council, I hope that your deliberations will support this ~ortion of a trail system that will provide a natural recreation facility for your citizens and ~ thank you for this time. :1 I: ~licia Eliot: I' ßood Evening Mr. Mayor and Council members. My name is Alicia Eliot and I have i~ived along Shanty Bay Road not far from the Barrie city limits all of my life. With a fwonderful view of the lake, and I am here in question of the CNR land near my home. I løm here tonight to try to convince you that tying up the land by creating a recreational ~rail would be in the best interest of the people of Oro-Medonte. Ita) With the media telling us about the decline of the family and the i~portance of II exercise for our health, a maintained recreational trail would provide. :1 opportunities for the people of Oro-Medonte to get out together and enjoy the ¡beauty of our area without leaving "home" to travel to Collingwood, Barrie or other local !þites. It could also be a saf~ transportation route as I think of my o~n childr~~ in the Ifuture, riding the bus, traveling to day camps or school or summer jobs avoiding the IÞusy traffic that goes by Shanty Bay. The list of advantages goes on and on. II ¡¡ iI Ii III ,I q í! Ii , II 'i II . Ii Ii Ii ,I i! II I 9 ~econdly, I would like to appeal to your sense of history: II I (~) " 'I 'I i II II The railway was an important aspect of the development of our Township. I know the presence of the railway when my great great-grandfather and many others settled in Oro. Now that the train and tracks are gone, I feel it would be a disservice to this aspect of our heritage to allow the land to be developed or to become unused. Allowing the people to use the land could be such an important aspect of our economic and social development. ¡I ,I I~ conclusion, the best use of the land would be to allow the public access to it. ~erhaps the trail could become a part of the tourist industry? The advantages to people qf our local community. The abandon line is being used daily by local people. I feel ~~, e creation of a trail is in the best interest of the people of oro-Med"""""onte, particularly in tjt,e area of safety for our children as they go out and ski, hike or ridr for fun or fitness. ~hank you for the opportunity to speak tonight and for hearing my comments. 'I ~orothY Hesser: Ii ~ayor Beard and Oro-Medonte Councilors. I'm Dorothy Hesser and I live on Barrie terrace in the south west corner of Oro-Medonte Township with the rail line going past ~y property. As a senior citizen I would like this made into a trail for hiking, biking, ~kiing with all its healthy benefits. I¡ to be able to bike or walk into Barrie or to Shanty Bay or Orillia would be much more iirteresting and safer than the busy roads, and not be polluting our air by driving cars. ~UCh a trail would be used by people of all ages. I have children and grandchildren that would make good use of it, as well as myself. And I would be much happier if they çould walk and ride their bikes on this trail rather than Shanty Bay Road. II 'i Vvhat an opportunity to have a trail like this in our own community! Money couldn't be ~pent on any more enjoyable and beneficial recreation for everyone from 4 to 84. It ~ould even eventually become part of the Trans Canada Trail. Thank You II 'í $hirley Chew: ': II ~ayor Beard and members of Council. My name is Shirley Chew and being a member Wf the Oro-Medonte Trails, it is a real pleasure to partake in any of their outings, be it piking, skiing, hiking or just plain strolling along the countryside. Ii ~aVing a spouse who was unable to walk in his later years, I took to walking alone Which I still do on a daily basis. As most of our hikes are in the northern part of the ~ownship it would be a real bonus to walk the abandoned rail lines in safety. Barrie has Jhe walk around the bay which I enjoy very much. But we have a real picturesque trail ~ight here in Oro-Medonte on the rail line. True, the trains are gone but what a way to ffemember if you could walk the trail in safety. Please help us to preserve it for future generations. II. .& Z. I. k. ~enm.er Ie emews I: Ii þouncil members and public, first I will deal with the tax issue. The town right now ~eceives about $60,000 a year in taxes at which $10,000 is our share. The other $50,000 goes to school boards and the County. I just want to mention that there is ~nother cost saving, on the other side, which would be the cost that we incur every year ~,'o maintain the Rail Crossing which was about $23,000, Yes, you are losing $10,000 ~ocally in taxes but you are saving $23,000 In maintenance revenue. ìi II I~nsurance your Worship, our Clerk h.as done extens!ve work on tha~. Sh~ spoke to our ¡insurance brokers and what we received from them IS that our premium will not go up at ~II with the effect of the land. What happens is, it is considered in our whole premiums I~s another part of our recreational vacant land. The only time that we will see an I: " 'I iI II 'I 'I II , I II . \i !i Ii II 10 \~ take into consideration that if you partner with certai.n interest groups, ~sually th.ose ~eople come with insurance. If it happens to be a claim through a motonzed. vehicle, t~at motorized vehicle has it's own insurance. So ~ometimes you can ~e third party n~moved, so it is very difficult for insurance companies to asses.s that or Its future. In ~athering our data, we pretty much went from Thunder B~y and Just about every where ~e could in Ontario, and we found out that we could not find anybody that actually has ~ claim that was due to a trail that affected that Municipality directly, Now there might qe something we might have missed or something someone forgot to tell us. But that Was the information we compiled. it I~ was deemed that also the design of the trail, that signage and the education to the , ~UbIiC made a difference in respect to insurance claims and so on. The fencing, ~xtensive work was done which reviewed the Line Fen~ing Act. Extensive ~ork was ~one reviewing the Abandoned Rail Line Act. That review was taken and glv~n to a ~olicitor for an opinion and it was deemed that a new owner would b~ responsible for t: aintaining any existing fence that was purchased. It was very specific and spoke to ~ at it was not necessary if there was no fence to go and put up a fence. So again, ,our worship, a lot of these factors are determined to signage to design and education. That is what we found. J¡ II $herry Birch-Bailey: il t" ayor Beard and Councilors. My name is Sherry Birch-Bailey and I am president of the . hanty Bay Rate Payers Association. I listened to all the possible comments tonight f om residents, neighbours, from rate payers, from tax payers, from real people who II ve in our Township. I want to thank you, first of all, for this public opportunity to bring '~is issue out into the open. 'I it il ~s you know, our rate payers organization represents some 750 households through ,~e southern portion in the Township of Oro-Medonte, and over the past several months 9ur members and directors have attended several meetings about recreational planning fpr the Township. We canvassed opinions from local residents in our village through our annual newsletter that was released in Summer 1996, and as a matter of fact, we have I' ~een flooded with telephone calls from people who are concerned about Rails to Trails ädventure in our area. I! Ii Wirst we would like to discuss six major concerns that have been brought to our ~ssociations attention: ì ~. Safety - Our residents are extremely concerned about the mix of pedestrian and II motorized vehicles and that these groups may be using the same space and the ;1 intersection roads at the same time. Safety is our first concern. ~. Security - This is an important point for residents whose homes are immediately II adjacent to abandoned railway line property. We ask that Council and it's staff 'I d~~onstrate and assu~e residents that their safety will not be threatened by people iI dnvlng so close to their homes and back yards. People who don't even live in our !i Township who may have easy access to these people's backyards i! f. Maintenance - Especially in regard to who is going to bear the cost for maintaining II! fences and so on and what those costs will be. I! Ii 4. il Ii II II II !I II I, Enforcement - If someone misuses this property, how will this situation be enforced and by whom. The O.P.P or local By-law enforcement., governments have not been a~le to demonstrate acts to our organization but enforcement of speed limits along ~Idge Road are .properly looked after lately. We've been asking for four-way stop sign, for larger signs for reduced speed limits, for extra radar traps and you're going to tell me now that you are going to add it to the work load of the local police or your By-law Enforcement Officer. How can this realistically be accomplished? I! ~. Money - What might the purchase price be to acquire these lands? What impact '. 'Í Ii Ii II I! It . !I II Ii II !I ;! II :, ¡I !I !I II '! 11 will it have on the Township budget? At a time when Provincial grants are greatly reduced, when it would appear the eventual cost and tax implications are Rail Trail Ventures will be born by the residents of Oro-Medonte. 16. Liability - What are the current cost of insurance and any event of a claim against II the Township due to these cost drastically increase. Now, just on the side, I listened II to the comment that was before me and I'm glad to see that issue has been !i researched, I am concerned about the cost, if a claim were to happen. I'm not II talking about somebody walking down the trail and tripping and hurting their toe. I II am talking about motorized vehicles. II II iWe wish to recognized and confirm that Oro-Medonte has demonstrated concern in the [past for the mix of pedestrian and motorized vehicles. Specifically, village residents are Ithe beneficial recipients of a sidewalk and that protects the pedestrian from cars along [6n extremely narrow portion of Ridge Road through Shanty Bay and we thank the trownship for this venture last year. We ask the Township that they therefore show the ,~ame concerns for pedestrians, children, adults, people who walk along nature trails I~nd separate those people from motorized vehicles. Yet all the phone calls that our iþrganization has received over the past several months about this Rail to Trails issue, I~ever have we received a call and said, "Hey, you now what, I'd really like to have a i~nowmobile trail through my back yard". Do not allow motorized vehicles to shatter a I~mall rural residential neighborhood. I! \lve would also ask that Council confirm they have entered into any negotiations with !þN or any other organizations concerning a possible development of this Rail to Trails iþroposal and that Council is still merely on a fact-finding activity at this time. The ¡Shanty Bay Rate Payers Association has been impressed by Council's effort to ¡maintain open dialogue between rate payers groups and the residents of Oro-Medonte, Ißnd we trust that this will continue and that the point I have made, as well as the Iresidents before me, have your consideration. And I thank you for letting me speak at l~hiS time. Ii i~ayor Beard: !I IWe will not deny that we have not spoken to CN on this issue but we will say that we !~ave not spoken to anyone else. We have been actively talking to CN. " " :1 I~herry Birch-Bailey: II :! !Gertainly, I would understand that if you were in negotiation with CN because this has ¡been going on for along time. And I'm glad for your reassurance that Council has not I~iscussed or entered in any negotiations with anybody. Thank you. 'I Ij I: liBarbara Rickman: II ,: '! I~y name is Barbara Rickman. I live in Shanty Bay. I just heard about this meeting iflbout 6:30 p.m. I'm president of the Orillia Naturalists Club and I thought I would come lþecause we are the organization that runs the Uhthoff Trail, we have a separate Uhthoff Ijrrail Committee and I'm not on it. So I don't know exactly, we are responsible for them, I~hey answer to us. I wasn't in the club when the Uhthoff Trail was first started but I'm ¡~ure that we be willing to provide information on how it was done with the planning of lþrillia Township. They have no complaints, as we have pointed out, from neighbouring lþeople that live next to the trail. The Snowmobile Association helps maintain it because I~hey use a portion of it - the portion that is used is to get under the highway. They ¡wanted to be part of it in order to get use of that. So they are limited to a small portion !þf the trail. The rest of it is exclusively for non-motorized vehicles and they are blocked l¡out by boulders. íi I II(The following notes are from the Clerk's handwritten comments, as the tape is ¡Iinaudible due to a malfunction) Ii I: I! " II ,I II :i II ^ \\ II " II II II I' :1 II 12 \1 II ~rch Brown: rv1r. Brown commented that from Barrie to Shanty Bay the land is very scenic. The ~djoining resident's in Mr. Brown's subdivision are prepared to purchase the land. The ~!3sidents also feel a trail would be beneficial but they would not want to see their ~roperty deteriorate. Would not like to see motorized vehicles on the trail. $herry Birch-Bailey: 1sked about the cement barriers installed by CN. Who would maintain the barriers? $he did not feel the other trails mentioned were at all similar to the trail which would go ~~rOugh Oro-Medonte as there are a lot of residents affected from Barrie to Shanty Bay. íí I' ~velyn Perdue: Commented that the Orillia (Lightfoot Trail) passes through a very populated area and i~ comparable to a portion of the trail which would pass through Oro-Medonte. II JI there being no further questions or comments, when being called for the third time, the ~ayor in closing the meeting, thanked those in attendance for their participation and íI tdvised that Council would consider all matters before reaching a decision. II !I ~otion # 2 íí q ~oved by Craig, seconded by Sommers \1 i! ~e it resolved that a By-law to Confirm the Proceeding of Council be introduced and ~ad a first and second time and numbered By-law No. 97-22. L Ii Carried. II II &e it resolved that By-law No. 97-22 be read a third time and finally passed, be ingrossed by the Clerk, signed and sealed by the Mayor. ,I " 'I II iI 'I I II Motion # 3 II Ii Moved by Sommers, Seconded by Craig. I' !I I' $e it resolved that we do now adjourn @ 8:06 p.m. II I " ,I jI I II II II It II il Ii ,i) LA~J~~D 'I II Ii II i ,! II !I II II !I II ,I íí ¡¡ i I! i! i¡ I! Ii " !I II Ii Ii II I ~/ II L ø::.<,~<,#".,t,,~ /I'"L,,' ,~~", CLERK, LYNDA AIKEN Carried. Carried.