Benthic assessments of local waterways, wetlands analysis, localized seismic activity monitoring, and a study of native apple trees in Haliburton County are all on the agenda as U-Links gets ready to host its annual celebration of research.

This year’s event is happening March 23 at Haliburton School of Art + Design and features 21 projects led by student researchers over the past year, said Frank Figuli, U-Links’ program coordinator.

“This is an opportunity for project hosts and the community at large to hear presentations, ask questions about the outcomes of the research and to network with other community members,” Figuli said.

For years, U-Links has taken topics pitched by County residents and matched them with students from Fleming College, Trent University, and, new this year, Metropolitan Toronto University (MTU), to help identify issues, and find solutions, to various environmental, social, economic, and cultural concerns in the Highlands.

The celebration provides a platform for students to present their findings and is also a great way for the community to learn more about various important topics, Figuli said.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, U-Links has facilitated over 300 research initiatives in the years since inception.

There will be four projects showcased this year, with students discussing their findings during short, 10-minute presentations. Carmen Galea, a student at MTU, has been working alongside Luba Cargill, founder of ATIP Haliburton, to identify native apple tree locations across the County. Cargill recently told The Highlander more than 170 locations have been identified, including 10 orchards.

“The long-term ambition… is to revitalize the heritage apple industry for Haliburton County, addressing things like opportunities for tourism, but also increasing the food security factor and finding ways to keep food production more localized,” Figuli said, noting Galea had spent roughly four months on the project.

Trent University students Ainsley Tagett, Emily Colautti, and Jess Livingstone led a four-month investigation of wetlands north of Grace Lake last year. Figuli said the idea was to grade the wetland to determine its eligibility for provincially significant status.

Students from Fleming College’s geological technician program carried out seismic activity monitoring on Grace Lake after finding evidence that a fault line runs under the body of water and will be presenting their findings at the event.

There will also be a presentation showcasing results of a benthic macroinvertebrate assessment on Kawagama Lake, led by Trent University student Trinity Torejos.

Figuli said benthic assessments were also completed on Koshlong, Haliburton and Gull lake systems, with an aquatic invasive species inventory completed for Kennisis Lake.

Sean Campbell, executive director of Union Cooperative in Kitchener-Waterloo, will serve as the event’s keynote speaker, discussing ways to bring innovative housing projects online in small communities. Figuli said this is an important topic, with U-Links recently partnering with local residents Fay Martin, Fay Wilkinson, and Dave Wilfong, and grad students from Trent, to look into housing alternatives for Haliburton County. He expects results of that project will be available in the fall.

“I’m excited for this year’s celebration – I think we’re going to get a good turnout… there will be lots of great updates and information shared. If you want to learn about what’s going on in Haliburton County, this is a great thing to come out for,” Figuli said.

The celebration runs from 12:30 to 3 p.m. For more information, visit ulinks.ca.

Ratepayers will see a 7.17 per cent increase on the County portion of their tax bill this year after councillors finalized the budget at a March 13 meeting.

CAO Gary Dyke and director of corporate services Andrea Robinson said it was a decrease on the second draft, which was 7.62 per cent.

They said a finance liaison committee of councillors Bob Carter and Murray Fearrey and warden Liz Danielsen met with them Feb. 16 to look for more efficiencies.

The committee suggested removing the hiring of one EMS supervisor, to save $120,124. They also recommended scrapping the FoodCycler program to slash $83,000. The three also pitched reducing the overall give to the Haliburton County Public Library by $115,000.

Robinson said the $318,154.65 cut means a 2024 levy of $23,261,957.69 – which results in a rate increase of 6.17 per cent. The other one percent comes from the creation of a $220,000 dedicated capital reserve levy.

“The 2024 budget and new dedicated capital levy will be a total cost to the ratepayer of $16.91 per $100,000 of residential assessment,” Robinson said. That is in addition to their municipal and school board taxes.

At the outset of last Tuesday’s meeting, library CAO Andrea Brown presented a third draft of their budget – with $34,260 in cuts, asking for $1,314,801, down from $1,349,061. The cuts included to the book budget, removing some library board per diem fees, dropping non-local newspaper subscriptions, reducing insurance costs, and reduction in Dorset branch mileage. She also pitched using reserves for air filter replacements, iPad replacements and other tech items, and pause a transfer for an asset management plan. She noted the service is doing a library staffing model review to be presented to the board in June.

During a lengthy debate, Coun. Lisa Schell said the library board had a $200,000 reserve and she thought this was the “rainy day” for them to use some of that. Dyke pointed out they could not tell the library board how to spend its money.

As a result, a motion was moved to agree to the $115,000 library budget reduction as suggested by Carter, Fearrey and Danielsen. It passed 6-2 (Cec Ryall and Jennifer Dailloux voted against).

Coun. Walt McKechnie said, “we’re not here to try to get rid of libraries. We’re here representing municipalities and the County of Haliburton. We’re just concerned about $1.2 million budgeted for payroll. We’re not downgrading all the good things you do, but somehow this has got to be brought down a little bit. We have a lot of other issues going on in our community.”

With the EMS decision, the County is hiring one EMS supervisor, but are deferring the hiring of a second. Asked by Dailloux about the impact, chief Tim Waite said with just one, it means “there will be several days without a supervisor at all for any time during the day. It does add additional on-call time for myself and management.” He said once a week every three weeks he works full-time and is also on call. He said those weeks are 24/7 for seven days. He added they will have to be “creative” with staffing that one person.

Fearrey said he thought they would get the second position in the next budget year.

Carter added, “it sucks that we have to cut things out of the budget but there were not many other places to cut, unfortunately.”

As for scrapping the FoodCycler program, Dailloux said one rationale was return on investment, saving money in waste management costs by diverting food waste from landfills. “The idea behind the FoodCycler is to spend a little bit upfront so that we get longer-term savings both in this year and in future years.”

However, Carter said he understood the company did not get federal government funding. He added in Minden Hills, they are seeing the units being put in electronic waste. “The suggested savings may not be what they suggested.”

Coun. Walt McKechnie said “we’re not here trying to get rid of libraries.”

Ten months from admitting defeat in their fight to save the Minden ER, cottager Jayson Schwarz and full-time resident Debbie Sherwin have turned their attention to another local cause.

The pair met with Gary Stoner, a volunteer with the Minden Community Food Centre, March 9, donating $820.61 to the facility. The money was the balance remaining in a TD Canada Trust fund established by the pair and fellow local resident Patrick Porzuczek last summer while they searched for ways to keep the hospital’s emergency department open.

“This is the money we were going to use to hire a litigator and try to take this to court,” Schwarz said, noting at its peak the trust contained more than $60,000. “We’ve returned most of it, and while we have tried to give back this last bit of money, people said they didn’t want it. We decided to donate it to another cause – and there’s no greater cause than the food bank with everything that’s going on right now.”

Schwarz said the group was advised last summer that no judge would grant an injunction or judicial review – two “final hail marys” that could have kept the ER open. Instead of wasting all that money, they stood down and began issuing refunds.

Ross Nasseri LLP, the Toronto-based firm retained, were paid $6,780 for their services, with the fees covered by several community members.

Sherwin said as of last week all donors had been issued cheques, returning their money. The trust fund was closed March 9.

Schwarz said the group didn’t have to think too hard before deciding on donating the leftover money to the food bank.

“Because of the way things have been over the past couple of years – major inflation, carbon taxes going up, which impacts fuel prices and causes everything to go up – it’s very, very difficult for people to survive and make ends meet,” Schwarz said.

Stoner noted the donation comes at an opportune time, with demand at an all-time high.

“Our numbers are increasing again. In the last little while we’ve had lineups when we’re open, I’ve never seen that before,” Stoner said. “Cash donations are always most appreciated because it then allows us to purchase food that’s most needed.”

Jean Munroe, manager of the food centre, said an average of 261 people and 109 families have been using the facility monthly so far in 2024. That’s up from an average of 255 individuals and 90 families per month in 2023, and 230 individuals and 78 families per month in 2022.

“This year is starting off as we expected, with a jump in the monthly number of people [we’re serving]. The housing industry has hit a standstill and many individuals are getting laid off, families are finding food unaffordable along with rent and other expenses,” Munroe said. “This will be a continued trend for 2024. We do not expect a slow down or change in numbers, other than moving up, this year.”

For more information, including how to donate, visit mindencommunityfoodcentre.ca.

Minden Hills council has approved $1.4 million to continue work on a proposed Scotch Line transfer station – to be built east of the existing landfill.

Manager of waste facilities, Chelsea Cosh, provided council with a comprehensive overview of design details at a special council meeting March 5.

Her ask was that council approve the design concept, include the $1.4 million in the 2024 capital budget, and allow her to continue moving the project forward.

She said the township already had an amended Environmental Compliance Approval. The lot has been cleared for the expansion area. The consulting services for the detailed design and construction are also complete.

Cosh reminded council staff were just looking for money for phase one of what could ultimately be a $5.5 million project. She said phase one essentially allows current operations to be moved to the new transfer station

“The new transfer station will be essential in managing the growing population in the township,” Cosh said, adding that with growth comes more traffic and demand on the site.

“Additionally, where the current site operations are positioned at the landfill is where future landfilling will need to take place. Ensuring operations are moved to the new transfer station area will prepare the township in advance to be able to start landfilling in the northwest portion of the site, where operations sit currently.”

Cosh added they’ve been told the existing site has about 11.5 years of life remaining.

As for design details, the waste facilities manager said the new configuration will ensure “optimal efficiency” for users and the township. “The intent of the design is to meet the current and future needs of the township and maintain adequate levels of service to Minden Hills residents.

“In light of the growing population and increasing waste generation quantities over time, the transfer station design will have the ability to expand for future needs and requirements. This operational flexibility will enable future expansions of the site with minimal impact to the existing operations.”

Scales will be installed, for accurate and consistent measurements for chargeable items. She said they can accommodate more waste diversion and add bins on long summer weekends, for example.

Next steps are finalizing and approving the design, presenting the drawings to council, and tendering for construction and contract administration. As for timelines, Cosh suggested the transfer station coming online in spring 2025. Minden Hills will spread the spend over two years and look to borrow the money as well as use reserves. Meanwhile, budget talks are continuing at the township.

PHASE ONE

• Concrete block retaining walls for 40-yard roll off bins and space for 11, 40-yard roll off bins (containers recycling, fibres recycling, cardboard recycling, and household garbage).

• Inbound and outbound scales and scalehouse.

• Reuse building.

• Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection area for propane cylinders, batteries (household and automotive), oil filters, empty plastic automotive containers, fluorescent bulbs/tubes.

• Electronics recycling.

• Service road for landfill staff and contractors.

• Mattress recycling, textile collection bins, lumber reuse area, shingles recycling.

• Construction and bulky waste collection.

• Tire, scrap metal, appliances, brush, leaf and yard waste collection.

• Open space to accommodate events (papershredding, HHW etc.).

• Hydro service.

Dysart et al is proposing changes to its septic maintenance inspection program ahead of the upcoming testing season.

Bri Quinn, program supervisor, told council Feb. 27 the changes clarify requirements for pump-outs, outline new components such as lake health assessments, and look at the implications of the recently-approved shortterm rental bylaw.

The township is also looking to increase its fees this year, with an approximate 12 per cent bump to $220 per inspection attempt.

A public meeting has been scheduled for March 26 to further discuss the changes.

“We’ve been working closely on a strategy to make sure we’re moving in the right direction with this program, ensuring we’re evolving as the industry needs us to evolve,” Quinn said.

The program has been running since 2017, with Dysart managing it completely in-house since 2022. Each year, staff focus on one geographic region and connect with homeowners to set up inspections. Last year, the department tested over 1,000 systems in ‘Area 4’, which encompassed homes within 30-metres of lakes in and around Haliburton village, including Grass, Head, Drag and Kashagawigamog.

Quinn said the township received feedback from those in the industry last year, who found it difficult to keep up with the number of follow-up work orders. As a result, they’re scaling back this season – spreading inspections in ‘Area 5’ over two years.

This year, staff will focus on properties around Grace, Farquhar, Barnum, Benoir and Elephant lakes. In 2025, inspections will largely be done within Harcourt Park, including Fishtail, Long, Allen, East, Little Straggle, Charlie George, and Kennaway lakes. It will amount to roughly 500 inspections each year, Quinn said, which, along with software and equipment enhancements, is the reason for the fee hike.

“Even with this increase, staff have effectively been able to keep the fee under that which was being invoiced by WSP Canada in 2021,” Quinn said, noting the company billed the township $228 per inspection.

Property owners requesting an inspection after Sept. 1 will face an additional $100 fee. Property owners are billed the full rate should they miss a scheduled inspection.

Referencing the other changes, Quinn said for systems that require a pump out, the township has clarified the tank must be pumped entirely, leaving little to no contents behind. The township is also asking that haulers provide brief comment on tank/ component conditions that may be more visible following a pump out.

Through the lake health assessment, staff will provide property owners with an overall score on their shoreline conditions, while offering tips on how to improve their score and help maintain healthy lakes. Quinn noted this is informational only and will not feature any enforcement measures.

Once the STR bylaw comes into effect, inspections of those properties will be completed during the township’s scheduled inspection program dates, Quinn said. She anticipates inspections beginning in May.

The Coalition for Equitable Water Flow (CEWF) says water levels in area reservoir lakes are near normal right now, but will be changing over the next couple of weeks – much earlier than usual.

Chair Ted Spence said, “CEWF is attentive to the noteworthy combination of a very low snowpack, subnormal winter precipitation, and unseasonable temperatures.”

CEWF said recent surveys have shown the snowpack in the watersheds is less than 60 per cent of normal in northern areas, and ranging down to near zero per cent further south.

Additionally, total precipitation has been below normal each month since September 2023, and in February was just 35 per cent of normal in the Haliburton area of the reservoir system. Since the Haliburton Highlands is the headwaters of the reservoir system, this combination of factors is impactful to the entire system, CEWF said last week.

“The TSW recognized this developing situation early and has been adding logs to reservoir dams. By the end of February, almost all reservoir dams have had logs added to store water and reduce the risk of very low spring water levels,” Spence said.

As a result of the early logging operations, CEWF predicts most lakes will see a slow rise, however flow-through lakes will see lower levels, and river flows will be reduced.

“As lake levels rise, changes in ice conditions may include breaking up and away from the shore and creating a risk of shoreline ice damage, particularly under high winds,” Spence said. “CEWF advises property owners to be attentive to changing conditions via local news, municipal channels or its website at cewf.ca.”

While logging operations this early is unusual, CEWF said, “the TSW has been proactive on behalf of the reservoir lakes. TSW staff continually monitor weather forecasts, lake levels and flows in their daily evaluation of options. Their future actions, as well as the vulnerability of the spring season, will depend on melt and rainfall events over the next two months.

“We’re going to need a lot of rain,” Spence added. He said despite the weekend rain event, we did not get as much precipitation as predicted.

In the TSW’s water level management update of March 8 for Haliburton and northern areas, it said the Haliburton and Northern Peterborough County reservoirs are above average due to earlier than typical snowmelt. It said the low amounts of snowpack remain in the most northern watersheds of the system.

“Lake levels are monitored daily and assessed in relation to estimated runoff amounts, however they are susceptible to changes in response to the future precipitation amounts.”

The TSW added flows on the Gull and Burnt River were expected to rise as a result of this past Saturday’s rain and saturated soil conditions.

Fire season

Meanwhile, Dysart et al fire chief Dan Chumbley said “definitely things are drying up… or seem to be drying up a lot faster.”

He said he’d already had people calling him and commenting on how dry the bush is.

“We usually have snow on the ground. It looks like the ice is going to be out by the end of March, when it’s usually the end of April.”

He said it’s too early for MNRF daily notices, and for the township fire chiefs to discuss fire bans but “it’s not too early to be worrying about it. We are conscious of it and thinking about it.”

Meanwhile, the four townships are working on a new burn bylaw before the official MNRF burn season.

It will mean not having any daytime burning permits available.