FRIENDS OF PETRIE ISLAND / AMIS DE L=ÎLE PETRIE
Record of Annual General Meeting
October 22, 2002, Queenswood Heights Community Center
19:30 - 21:00
PRESENT: Al Tweddle, Chair, P. Le Fort, meeting
secretary; R. Cloutier, D. Drouillard, D. Villeneuve, P. Waddell, J. Robertson;
guest Sherrie Crowder.
1. Record of previous executive meeting
(25/09/2002) was approved with addition of AMeeting agenda was adopted; moved RC, seconded PLF.@ Moved: PLF, seconded: RC.
2. Financial
report (Chair)
Current
balance stands at $5285.71
Balance fwd 31/12/2001 |
|
|
$1,812.37 |
Revenue 2002 |
memberships |
350.00 |
|
|
City of Ottawa |
30,000.00 |
|
|
Ont. Trillium Foun. |
11,700.00 |
|
|
Boy Scouts |
32.14 |
|
|
Kelsey=s |
40.00 |
|
|
Private donations |
271.00 |
|
|
T-shirt sales |
100.00 |
|
|
Map and misc. sales |
35.32 |
|
|
Turtle Day donations |
43.06 |
|
Subtotal revenue |
|
|
15,571.52 |
|
|
|
$17,383.89 |
Expenses 2002 |
Cell phone |
189.96 |
|
|
Website |
82.42 |
|
|
Stationery & supplies |
466.76 |
|
|
Maintenance |
348.64 |
|
|
Wildlife display |
39.70 |
|
|
Food, pop, ice, water |
43.26 |
|
|
Photography |
200.00 |
|
|
Audiovisual B slide pres. |
725.00 |
|
|
Publications |
583.75 |
|
|
Reference material |
266.31 |
|
|
Staff wages |
5450.90 |
|
|
Boat use |
172.37 |
|
|
Mural art |
250.00 |
|
|
Phone, t-shirts |
229.86 |
|
|
Maintenance, supervision wages |
3049.25 |
|
Subtotal expenses |
|
|
($12,098.18) |
CURRENT BALANCE |
22/10/2001 |
|
$5,285.71 |
Financial report is approved as presented (moved: PLF,
seconded: JR).
3. Chair=s report (Report to City of Ottawa for 2002 season).
The Chair gave a summary of his report for the 2002 season, previously
distributed. There was discussion on the boat launching area options.
AReport to City OF OTTAWA for the Summer Season 2002 - October
The Friends of
Petrie Island operated the Petrie Island picnic area for the fifth year this
past summer. This was the second year of operation with the new City of Ottawa,
the previous three years were with the City of Cumberland.
An increasing
number of people from across the region are discovering the area, and this
along with continued use by those familiar with the Islands increased
attendance from 34,000/visitor hours in
2000 to 75,000 in 2002.
The Friends of
Petrie Island would like to thank the City of Ottawa and its staff for the
support they have received this year.
ORGANIZATION
< Fifth
year of operating the picnic area: 1998 - 1 month; 1999 - 2 2 months; 2000 -
4 2 months, 2001 -
5 months, 2002 - 5 months
< Continued
contacts with various associations: Ottawa Field Naturalists= Club (OFNC),
Ottawa Duck club, local community associations, Riverkeepers, SHELL (Turtle
Club) and various government bodies
< Additional
City funds were used to hire students for monitoring and maintenance
< An
Ontario Trillium Foundation grant
allowed us to expand our interpretive program
< Conducted
survey on futures uses of Petrie Island
< participated
in Planning meetings and Open houses on the park/beach plans
SITE IMPROVEMENTS, USING FUNDS FROM
CITY AND DONATIONS
< Expanded
picnic area west and south, cleaned up
shoreline and expanded sand areas; sand donated by Roger Grandmaitre Ltd
< Built
10 new picnic tables, with materials donated by Home Depot
< Provided
maintenance and cleanup of trail and shoreline outside picnic area
< Improved
the cottage for use as an interpretive center,
electricity was added with City funds
< A
mural was painted on the south wall of
the cottage
< Improved
signage and display areas
< Majority
of work was done Wednesday mornings. Two work days were also attended by the
general public. Many Scout and Guide groups participated in clean ups in the
picnic area and on the island.
< Improved
area around the canoe launch - (Crappy Bay)
< provided
sand mounds for potential turtle breeding areas at Crappy Bay
< A
wildflower garden was started using driftwood and natural plants
< previously
donated picnic tables using pressure treated lumber were painted
< Area
around the second cottage was used as maintenance area and for some special
events
OPERATION
<
Wet weather in April, May and June limited access and delayed cleanup of
the picnic area, which was inaccessible due to flooding for approx one week in
late April, one week in mid-May and one week in June, despite this the
attendance in May and June was only slightly below last year=s
< The
City provided direct funds for toilet
rental (4 2 months),
materials and grass cutting ($3,900) as well as services of staff for site improvement and garbage collection
($3,550), for a total value of $7,450
(the same as the previous year)
< Daily
cleanup, site improvement, and monitoring of the area was provided by Friends of Petrie Island, using volunteers and
students hired with City grant money -
$3000
< The
bylaws were generally obeyed, including dogs on a leash, occasional foot
patrols by bylaw officers and Police had a positive impact.
< Parking
- up to 120 cars were counted on peak days. There were 70 regular spots. There
were 16 days with over 70 cars and 8 days with over 100.
< Litter
problems were mainly caused by animals in garbage cans and debris washed up
from the river
< FOPI
again worked with City staff to protect trees from Beavers (wrapped trees with
wire mesh)
ATTENDANCE
< Attendance
was based on car counts time 2.5 persons in May/June and 3.0 persons in
July/August
< Ideal
weather as well as growing awareness of the area increased attendance.
< There
were 51 days when attendance exceeded 500 and 25 days when it exceeded 1000 and
7 days when it exceeded 1500
INTERPRETIVE AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
<
Trillium grant provided a student for four months, and monies to
improve publications, displays and
present an audio visual program.
< Continued
program of monthly posters to educate the public on various natural aspects of
Petrie Island and added interpretive boards, increased from 9 to 12 boards on display
< Updated
three brochures and improved the distribution
using the Trillium grant
< Participated
in Wildlife Festival at Carlingwood Mall in April
< Six open houses were held with nature displays,
including 3rd Wildflower
Walk and a 2nd Turtle Day
< Jim
Robertson, one of our photographers, completed a slide show featuring a Ayear in the
life of Petrie Island@, which was
shown to various community groups and schools, 31 presentations to over 1250
people
< Made
presentations and gave tours to Scout
and Guide groups, schools and Wildlife Federation of Canada National Conference
< Our
website (www.petrieisland.org) was improved and we have received many positive
comments
< Three
Carleton University students are working on environmental projects at Petrie
Island
< Featured
on a CHRO and CJOH TV segments: Chairman was also interviewed twice for radio
programs and Petrie was featured in Ottawa City Life magazine
< Petrie
Island was again featured in:
- local publications, Citizen, Orleans Star
and Journal, East end Communiqué, Ottawa City Life Magazine
- Wildlife
Festival map of nature sites in Eastern Ontario
FOPI REQUESTS COUNCIL SUPPORT FOR:
<
Construction of Phase 1 of the Beach plan
<
Develop a management plan for the sand operation area of the Island
during construction of the beach
<
Friends of Petrie Island believe that
the entire 25-acre sand excavation site should be developed as a passive
recreation park and that any boating/boat launch facilities should be located well away from the present sand
excavation site; plans should proceed to develop this area
<
Look at possible use of the downstream bay for canoe, kayak and small
boat sailing area as well as shore fishing
PROPOSALS FOR 2003
<
Same operating season as 2002, May to October, operation will depend on
the construction schedule
<
Improved toilet facilities
<
build another picnic shelter
<
Work on additional nature trails on Island and mainland shore
<
Improve cottage/Info center
<
Apply for another Trillium grant
<
Expand interpretive program, with additional rotating signage, guided
and self guided tours
<
Increase grass cutting from 6 - 8 times
<
Where possible have after hours check ie: 9 - 10 p.m. and look into a
gate at entrance to the Island
<
Increase membership base and donations
5
YEAR REVIEW
Five years ago only a few individuals and fishermen went to
the areas of the Island upstream of the Grandmaitre sand operation. FOPI has
opened up the area from 1 2 months, 8000/visitor hours in 1998 to 5 months (May to
Oct) 80,000 in 2002. During these five
years FOPI has been responsible in obtaining over $70,000 in donated material
and volunteer time.
We have developed a picnic area with a small beach and a two
kilometer trail system that allows the public to visit unique wetland systems at Petrie Island.
People from all over Ottawa are coming to see, educate and enjoy the area.
The Ottawa Field Naturalist Club inventoried the area in
1999 and working with them FOPI has developed a trail system which minimizes
the impacts on the ecosystem. Various reports indicate that the wildlife
variety (see FOPI website) is abundant,
the number of turtles and herons seen (fall 2002) indicate healthy populations.
The constant monitoring of the area by volunteers and staff
are an essential part of this success. With the development of a park/beach on
the sand operation site it will be equally important to continue these efforts
and FOPI will continue to participate in the overall protection, education and
operation of Petrie Island.
Friends of Petrie Island Finances
2002 2001
Main sources of FOPI Revenue
Membership fees $330 $ 425
Cash donations* $400 $ 2425
*(Queenswood Heights, Fallingbrook,
Villages Associations and AutoDesk Company contributed $2000.)
City Grant 3000*
Main FOPI Expenses
Operational Supervision $3075* $1631.
Telephone $
** $115
Interpretive $
** $421
SUBTOTAL $3075 $2167
* City grant
** Covered by Trillium grant this
year
Donated Material Sand
from Grandmaître $1200 $700
Picnic tables (Home Depot) $1000 $1051
Photo materials (FOPI Members) $ 500 $2000
SUBTOTAL $2700 $3751
CITY FUNDS
Materials and supplies $1500 $2000
Grass cutting $
800 $ 400
Toilet rental $2500 $1500
Electricity $4800 $3900
Staff time for support, garbage
collection, chain saw work,
Machine operator (this portion not complete at this
time) $ 2650 $3550
TOTAL $7450 7450
TABLE 1 -
PETRIE ISLAND ATTENDANCE
|
TOTAL
ATTENDANCE |
|
|
|
||||
|
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
|
|
|
MAY |
n.a. |
3075 |
4089 |
5084 |
4185 |
|
|
|
JUNE |
510 |
3943 |
4617 |
9517 |
9479. |
|
|
|
JULY |
277 |
6852 |
10,974 |
18,672 |
26,062 |
|
|
|
AUGUST |
4576 |
6196 |
9881 |
19,674 |
26,417 |
|
|
|
SEPTEMBER |
2596 |
3400 |
4500 ) |
8,456 |
13,044 |
|
|
|
SEASON TOTAL |
7959 |
23,466 |
34,970 |
60,403 |
79,187* |
|
|
|
*Over 200,000 hours of use
TABLE
2 - VOLUNTEER WORKERS
|
2002 paid |
2002 volunteer |
2000 |
2001 |
WORK HOURS |
400 * |
739 |
658 |
479 |
MONITORS= &
CAPTAINS= HOURS |
|
453 |
806 |
919 |
ORGANIZATIONAL |
|
160 |
110 |
120 |
INTERPRETIVE
PROGRAM |
1040** |
210 |
250 |
530 |
TOTAL |
|
1592 |
1824 |
2048 |
VALUE @
$7.00/HOUR |
|
$11,144 |
$12,768 |
$14,336 |
DONATED
MATERIAL |
|
$2700 |
$1100 |
$3751 |
TOTAL
Volunteer Value |
1440 |
$13,844 |
$13,968 |
$18,036 |
* City Grant ** Trillium grant@
5. Webmaster=s report (D. Villeneuve)- An effort will be made to
make the membership page more user-friendly.
6. Publicity: (Chair) - There have been two
TV slots, 2 radio slots, an article in City Life magazine, and several articles
on local papers.
7. Membership (D. Drouillard) - It is noted that D.
Drouillard is now in charge of membership and directory responsibilities.
8. Ontario Trillium Foundation grant
(Chair)
Activities were as follows: improvements to
interpretive building, hiring of student information officer and monitor, who
gave several tours to seniors, school groups etc., and supported the
audiovisual presentations, research, questionnaire circulated (100 responses),
several fact sheets prepared, 240 hours of student community service time used
(more could be accommodated), new species of snake for Petrie identified,
resource center started, additional monitoring implemented.
PROPOSAL FOR 2003-04 - It was proposed that a two-year
funding request be put to the Foundation for 2002/2004, covering salaries,
shoreline and trail protection, observation area, commercial interpretive
signage, publications and possible translation, illustrated booklets, new
themes.
It was moved by DV and seconded by PW that those in
charge of the submission go ahead with this approach, which was approved in
principle by the executive.
10. Beach plans (D. Villeneuve)
<
Attended working
group meetings
<
Plan now includes
some phase 2 items in phase 1
<
Request for funding
should go to Council late October
<
Environmental report
is still the crucial factor
11. Old dump cleanup project (Chair)
Chair has been in contact with P. McNeely on subject
of old Petrie Island dump. FoPI feel that this has completely overgrown and
looks healthy, and that any contaminants from several decades ago would have
been washed out by yearly flooding. In addition, the site is remote from the
planned beach and the current picnic park. FoPI could offer to help with
surface cleanup.
12. Election of board of directors and approval of
constitution and bylaws for incorporation purposes.
The following members were nominated and elected
unanimously to the board of directors: Al Tweddle, René Cloutier, Paul Le Fort,
Dave Redmond, Dave Villeneuve, Jim Robertson, Pat Laforest, Doug Drouillard,
Pete Waddell and Steve McPhee.
Approval of constitution and bylaws - It was moved
by D. Villeneuve and seconded by D. Drouillard that
the constitution and bylaws, as amended to May 2001, be the constitution and
bylaws of the Friends of Petrie
Island as an incorporated group. Carried.
Meeting
adjourned at 21:00 - Next executive meeting November 19, 2002
FRIENDS OF PETRIE ISLAND / AMIS DE L=ÎLE PETRIE
Record of Special Executive Meeting
October 22, 2002, Queenswood Heights Community Center
21:00 - 21:05
PRESENT: Al Tweddle, Chair, P. Le Fort, meeting
secretary; R. Cloutier, D. Drouillard, D. Villeneuve, P. Waddell, J. Robertson.
Selection of
executive: the following members,
elected to the board of directors at the annual general meeting held October
22, 2002, will have responsibilities as follows:
Chair Al
Tweddle
Vice-chair René
Cloutier
Treasurer Stephen
McPhee
Interpretive Program and Recording secretary Paul Le Fort
Publicity Patrick
Laforest
Membership Doug
Drouillard
Planning David
Villeneuve
Planning Assistance David
Redmond
Members at large James
Robertson, Peter Waddell
Meeting adjourned at 21:05 - Next executive meeting
November 19, 2002