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MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF CHESTER
CHESTER MUNICIPAL COUNCIL
Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 8:45 a.m.
AGENDA
1. MEETING CALLED TO ORDER.
2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING:
2.1 Council – Thursday, October 16, 2014
3. MATTERS ARISING:
3.1 Employee Recognition (10 Years or More)
3.2 Operating Budget 2014/2015 – Second Quarterly Report to September 30th, 2014 – Director of
Finance.
4. COMMITTEE REPORTS:
4.1 Committee of the Whole – October 23, 2014 – Warden Webber
4.2 Fire Advisory Committee – October 15, 2014
4.3 Recreation & Parks Committee – October 20, 2014 – Councillor Connors
4.4 Nominating Committee – October 23, 2014 – Warden Webber
4.5 Any other Committee Reports.
5. CORRESPONDENCE:
5.1 Memo from Sarah MacKelvie, Civic Address Coordinator to CAO dated October 22, 2014
regarding New Road Name off of Mersey Road Connector, East River.
5.2 Memo from Sarah MacKelvie, Civic Address Coordinator to CAO dated October 14, 2014
regarding New Road Name Change, Borgels Point Road.
5.3 Memo from Sarah MacKelvie, Civic Address Coordinator to CAO dated October 7, 2014
regarding New Road Name off of Lower Grant Road, Chester Basin.
5.4 Correspondence from Municipality of the District of Lunenburg dated October 10, 2014 regarding
an invitation to participate on a Sherbrooke Lake Access Advisory Committee.
5.5 Presentation from Helen Lanthier and Sue Bookchin, Project Coordinators, Second Story
Women’s Centre regarding Municipal Role in Ending Violence against Women (appointment 9:30
a.m.)
5.6 Email from CAO dated October 21, 2014 regarding Request for Designation and Collection Services
Contract Renewal.
5.7 Correspondence from Jim Smith of Chester dated October 10, 2014 regarding EDU sewer rates.
6. NEW BUSINESS.
7. ADJOURNMENT.
APPOINTMENTS ARRANGED 9:00 a.m. Gerry Giffin and John Carroll regarding Navigation Aids in Harbour.
9:30 a.m. Helen Lanthier and Sue Bookchin, Project Coordinators, Second Story Women’s Centre regarding
“Be the Peace” violence against women project.
In Camera following regular session under Section 22 of the MGA if required
Gerry Giffin 2014 October 29
Brief to the Municipality of the District of Chester Council:
Proposed Changes to Navigation Aids in Mahone Bay
The Canadian Coast Guard will be implementing changes to the Navigation Aids in Mahone Bay.
Although unclear, these changes appear to be based on a new policy for the design of
navigation aid systems:
x Updating aids to international standards meaning the use of cardinal markers. Cardinal
buoys are yellow and black and have 4 configurations indicating safe water on either the
North, South, East, or West of the buoy.
x Focused on ‘routes most followed’
x Removal of aids not on these routes including those marking hazards, with the purpose
of encouraging boaters to stay on routes most followed
The process so far has included meetings in 2013 to determine the routes most followed and
meetings in 2014 to present the changes. These meetings were attended by a small number of
boaters. In 2013, the Coast Guard did not disclose the purpose for soliciting feedback on
‘routes most followed’ or indicate that there was a new policy. The purpose of the meeting in
2014 was to present the new design, not to solicit feedback on proposed changes.
During the presentations in 2014, the Coast Guard indicated that 25% of the current aids will
be removed but did not provide a list of them.
Some of the changes are concerning for boaters in Mahone Bay including:
x Removal of all aids at the entrance to Deep Cove
x Removal of all aids to guide boaters to Oak Island Marina, Gold River Marina, and
Martins River
x Only support for navigation in areas deemed safe on the routes most followed, resulting
in the removal of aids marking hazards such as Bella Shoal and Spectacle Shoal
x Removal of sound signals on existing aids
Additional Cardinal Buoys will be deployed on ‘routes most followed’ for example, 6 new aids for
Indian Point.
Boaters will be informed of the changes only through the ‘Notices to Mariners’. These are
issued monthly but the vast majority of boaters are unaware of them. Some aids that are
regularly removed in the winter will not be returned in the spring of 2015, although we do not
know which ones. A detailed plan for the changes has not been provided.
At the request of Gerald Keddy to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, a meeting was held in
Halifax with a Policy Advisor within her administration. This meeting was attended by Gerald
Keddy, representatives from Chester Yacht Club, Lunenburg Yacht Club, Sail Canada and the
Atlantic Marine Trades Association. The night before this meeting some details on these
changes was provided, although still not complete or in the form of a list.
In addition to the points above, some of the points made at the meeting included:
x The process has been very poor, has not provided for feedback from boaters, and has
not benefited from the involvement of local experts, beginning at the early policy
development stage.
Gerry Giffin 2014 October 29
x There is currently no formal Coast Guard advisory committee representing recreational
boaters. The Maritime Recreational Boating Advisory Council for the Coast Guard no
longer meets.
x The new design is flawed for some of the following reasons:
o Mahone Bay is largely used by recreational boaters, resident and visiting
o The majority of times, recreational boaters do not follow the small list of ‘routes
most followed’ chosen by the Coast Guard. Recreational boaters in Mahone Bay
take advantage of anchorages and areas not on these routes
o It also assumes that recreational boaters go in straight lines
o It removes aids marking individual hazards creating safety risks
o Sounds from aids are important for navigation at night and in the fog
o Small plastic Cardinal Buoys are too small to be interpreted compared to the
current lateral green and red aids
o There appears to be assumptions on the wide spread use of GPS devices with up
to date charts
x The proposed implementation method shows a lack of understanding of the best ways
to educate and communicate to recreational boaters
The DFO Policy Advisor indicated that he will be consulting with the Coast Guard and the
Minister and will get back to us at some time in the future.
Gerald Keddy immediately recognized the significance of these changes to the safety of
recreational boaters and has lobbied the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and brought the issue
up at a PC Caucus meeting.
A meeting was held at the Sail Canada AGM last week with its representatives who regularly
meet with the federal government.
Patricia Nelder from the Atlantic Marine Trades Association (and a resident of the municipality)
has requested and successfully added an agenda item for the Coast Guard to present their new
design methodology at the next meeting of the National Recreational Boating Advisory Council
(a committee of the Department of Transportation) on November 5th. She will also be
presenting on this topic to provide the local perspective on the issues we have identified.