Norfolk County Council Presentation October 2008

For your information, please find attached a copy of the presentation that I made to Norfolk County Council on October 28^th at their capital budget meeting regarding my concern about the structural integrity of Misner and Ivey Dams on Silver Lake in Port Dover, the threat they pose to the community and the opportunities that Silver Lake offer to Norfolk County as a whole.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at work (905-318-5932 ext. 224) during weekdays and at home (519-426-5677) anytime in the evening and on the weekend.

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DEPUTATION

SPECIAL BUDGET MEETING – OCTOBER 28, 2008

By:                  Jim Dover – Friend of Silver Lake

Subject:          Silver Lake Restoration

I am a resident of Simcoe and the founding President of the Silver Lake Rowing Club. The purpose of my deputation is to highlight the potential threat that both the Misner Dam and Ivey Dam represent to the community and to make Council aware of the benefits that Silver Lake provides to Norfolk County as a whole. By doing so, it is my hope that Council will ensure there are sufficient funds in the 2009 capital budget to perform engineering assessments of the Ivey and Misner dams. These assessments will serve to protect Norfolk County residents from harm and loss of property. They may also serve as the foundation for the restoration of Silver Lake in partnership with the community.

The Port Dover Lions Club and Silver Lake Rowing Club have partnered in the development of Silver Lake Park. The trail along Silver Lake, a soccer field, the Farmer’s Market, a dock and rowers on the lake are just a few of the visible improvements made possible by community volunteers without any financial support from Norfolk County. Perhaps less known is the fact that Silver Lake itself has provided a direct financial return of almost $600,000 to Norfolk County over the past eight years excluding “spin off” benefits to the local economy. A break down of these returns is contained in Attachment 1.

Silver Lake provides residents from across Norfolk County with the opportunity to be more physically active. Approximately 250 club members annually enjoy the sport of rowing on Silver Lake as part of recreational and competitive programs targeting local elementary and high schools across Norfolk County as well as programs targeting adults. In a letter to Mayor Travale dated October 20, 2008, Lynda Dundas President of ROWONTARIO, the Province of Ontario’s governing body for the sport of rowing, stated that Norfolk County deserves to be proud of the Canadian and American champions as well as the four athletes from communities across the County – Langton, Port Ryerse, Normandale and Simcoe - who trained on Silver Lake and have represented Canada at the international level.

Silver Lake provides an ideal venue for exciting sprint regattas that attract visitors to Norfolk County. The Silver Lake Invitational High School Sprints Regatta has been held since 1999. Sheltered from wind, the course guarantees calm water and good racing under the stormiest of conditions. However, the silting in of Silver Lake threatens the continued existence of the Silver Lake Rowing Club and prevents other regattas from being hosted. The club has been reduced to training on 500 meters of water from the original 750 meters when the club was first founded.

If the lake can be restored to provide a four lane course straight away over a 1000 meter distance, the continued presence of the sport of rowing in Norfolk County will be assured. Moreover, as the President of ROWONTARIO also stated in the October 20^th letter to Mayor Travale “a restored Silver Lake will create the possibility of hosting additional recreational and masters rowing regattas at the regional and provincial level...that would appeal to people within the southern Ontario and northern New York State rowing community thereby drawing people to Norfolk County.”

However, before any thought can be given to the restoration of Silver Lake, the threat of Ivey Dam on the north end of Silver Lake and Misner Dam at the south end must be addressed. In the past few years, Long Point Region Conservation Authority has assessed the dam structures they own and taken action. As a result, we have witnessed the decommissioning of Sutton Dam and more recently the Rock’s Mills Dam.

With the failure of the dam at Normandale owned by the Ministry of Natural Resources, we have also experienced the unfortunate consequences when the structural integrity of dams is not assessed. The failure of the dam at Normandale resulted in significant property damage. Fortunately no one was harmed. Imagine the consequences of a failure of Misner Dam. In the words of a representative of Long Point Region Conservation Authority, the result would be “catastrophic”.

In the 2009 capital budget before you today, Public Works and Environmental Services Department has identified an expenditure of $25,000 toward dam inspections as a Priority 2 ranking. See Project Number C302.0011. In conversations with the General Manager, it is my understanding that originally the plan was that this $25,000 would serve to provide a basic assessment of the structural integrity of four dams owned by Norfolk County. Ivey Dam and Misner Dam were not initially included amongst the four dams to be assessed.

As a result of a recent meeting with representatives of the Long Point Region Conservation Authority, Simcoe District Fish and Game Club, Silver Lake Rowing Club, Community Services Department and Public Works and Environmental Services Department, it is my understanding that the list of dams to which this $25,000 would apply was expanded to include Misner Dam and Ivey Dam. However, these two dams were added to the list without any increase in funding despite the fact that Long Point Region Conservation Authority estimated an assessment of the structural integrity and cost of repairs of Misner Dam alone would cost approximately $15,000. Nor was the priority ranking changed to a Priority One despite the clear physical threat that Misner Dam presents to the community as was evidenced recently at Normandale.

It is my understanding Staff have accepted that ownership of Ivey Dam has defaulted to the County. While ownership of Misner Dam is less clear, it is not a reason to delay action – especially given it is alleged that Norfolk County is the owner and may find itself liable at the end of the day in any case. The responsible course of action is that the safety of Norfolk County residents and property be ensured while ownership is being clarified. By not doing so, the County risks a “catastrophic” failure of a dam while the argument regarding ownership continues – a failure which would threaten the economic viability of Port Dover harbour with a sudden and significant flow of water and sedimentation that would result in significant property damage and the potential harm to individuals and fatalities.

Once the structural integrity of Ivey and Misner Dams and the cost of repair are known, the community in partnership with the County can turn their minds to the viability of restoring the dams and Silver Lake. I am confident that a broad base of community support exists for such work and that by working together funds can be accessed from various sources. But first we must know the current state of these two structures.

Imagine fish ladders up Misner Dam and Ivey Dam that would benefit the Lake Erie fishery and provide a local tourist attraction. Imagine a provincial regatta drawing competitors from across Ontario and New York State. Imagine a mini hydro-electric generator at Misner Dam providing revenue on a regular basis. Imagine reduced dredging costs at Port Dover harbour as a result of strategically located silt traps above Misner Dam and Ivey Dam.

I am asking Norfolk County to join local community groups such as the Port Dover Lions Club, Silver Lake Rowing Club, Simcoe District Fish and Game Club as well as other interested individuals and groups to restore Ivey Dam and Misner Dam as well as Silver Lake.

To help us get started, I am requesting Council to pass the following recommendations:

1.      That Council formally recognizes Silver Lake as a Norfolk County asset that benefits the County as a whole;

2.      That the assessment of Misner Dam and Ivey Dam be raised to a Priority 1 ranking in the 2009 capital budget for the purpose of assessing the viability of restoring Silver Lake and;

3.      That an additional $15,000 be approved specifically for the assessment of Misner Dam in addition to the funds already proposed as part of Project Number C302.0011.

ATTACHMENT 1

FINANCIAL RETURN TO THE COMMUNITY

Dragon Boat Festival proceeds to Norfolk General Hospital (four years):                $110,000

Row for Heart Regatta proceeds to Heart and Stroke Foundation (4 years):             $50,000

Scholarships to American Universities (three)                                                           $350,000

Summer Jobs (two positions for nine years)                                                                $70,000

TOTAL                                                                                                                        $580,000