Councillor Betty Chanyi - Asks for everyone to contact her regarding NCC

Article from Councillor Betty Chanyi in response to the Questions regarding Concession A Bridge, the NCC's acquisition of properties and Long Point Resident's battle with MNR over the Fowler's Toad.

Courtesy of the PORT ROWAN GOOD NEWS - August 2013.

Note: There is no definite timeline, proof or definite numbers for the payment of taxes by the NCC and her references to changes on |Long Point are very vague. 

Councillor Chanyi is asking everyone to contact her…

Should the bridge on Conc. A be reopened to traffic again?

Happy Summer everyone and I am so glad that you can spend it with us in Ward 1.

For the farming community it means hard work with crops that maintain livelihoods and for the consumer it means fresh fruit and vegetables ready for our dining pleasure.

This month I would like to get feedback from all of you please.

You are well aware that we have magnificent scenery in Norfolk County with beaches , pretty towns, the lake and our picturesque back roads. I believe one project that Norfolk County needs to take on, is a road map to beautiful back roads of our County.

That being said, there are some roads which are not totally accessible to a pleasurable drive in the quiet countryside. One of the most beautiful roads is Concession A in the former South Walsingham Township, but the road itself is in need of upgrading and the bridge does not allow through-traffic since it was closed so many years ago.

I need your feedback about whether the bridge should be reopened to allow traffic to flow unimpeded through this pretty part of our County. Please let me know what your thoughts are as I need to inform the general manager of the roads department about the desires of our residents and visitors.

This is very important and timely. My email address and phone number appear at the bottom of this article. Thank you in advance for your responses.

I have received several questions about the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the land purchases they have made mainly in Ward 1. Wendy Cridland, Program Manager for Southwestern Ontario, has addressed some of those questions.

The first one was about the amount of taxes paid on the purchased properties. NCC made a commitment to Norfolk County in 2010, even though the lands were eligible for 100% tax relief through the Conservation Land Tax Incentive Program, to continue to pay the same amount of taxes as farmers were paying when the land was being farmed. It really is still being farmed but in a different manner. NCC pays over $70,000 in property taxes annually to Norfolk County.

Wendy indicated that NCC has invested substantially in the local economy. In 2012, NCC spent over $1 million in Norfolk County purchasing goods and services from 56 local contractors, businesses and service providers. Wendy also points out that NCC was very strategic in acquiring the most biologically significant habitats in a very concentrated area, usually along ravines, forested areas and streams or creeks. These lands, Wendy indicates, support and incredible diversity of habitats from large swaths of sand plain forests that support deer and turkey , as well as rare songbirds: swamps that hold water, reduce flooding and support rare turtles and salamanders: deep ravines and cold water creeks that sustain trout and other aquatic life; and open meadows for wide-ranging badgers and pollinating insects beneficial for nearby fields and crops.

These lands are some of the last refuges of Carolinian species in all of Canada and are in our backyard for the entire community to enjoy and from which to benefit. Wendy was please to address some of the public’s questions and comments I received. I hope this helps everyone understand the role of NCC in our community.

Some cottage owners and people living close to the Lake Erie shoreline received a letter from MNR concerning Fowler’s Toad which is on the Species at Risk list.

If there is any concern, there should not be, since this letter is for information purposes to bring awareness to the public and will not impede present activities at Long Point. Many cottagers must move sand away from their cottages in order to access them. This activity, as I understand it, will likely be allowed to continue.

Any accommodations that need to occur would be minor in nature and require only timing adjustments in the moving of the sand. The letter was intended to bring awareness to those along the lake shore of the importance of the sand and dunes on which the Fowler’s Toad and other amphibians depend for their lifecycles.

It Is appreciated by all that property owners work in co-operation with the MNR to protect a species that is so vulnerable and at risk.

If you wish to contact me, please do so at betty.chanyi@norfolkcounty.ca or bchanyi@live.ca or by phone at 519-586-7175