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Home My WebLink About2000-02-10ENVY2000-02-10 ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY 107 2000 CITY OF KITCHENER The Environmental Committee met this date at Kuntz Electroplating Inc., 851 Wilson Avenue, commencing at 4:00 p.m., under Councillor Jake Smola, Chair, with the following members present: Ms. S. Hultquist, Ms. B. Luckhardt, Councillor T. Galloway and Messrs. H. Alsafouti, R. Dal Bello, B. Krafchek, H. Linseman and F. Wende. Officials Present: Ms. B. Steiner, Ms. J. Billett and Messrs. B. Stanley and D. Daly. 1. APPOINTMENTS - CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON AIR QUALITY (CACAQ) The Committee was provided with a memo dated February 9, 2000 from Ms. J. Billett, advising that the Citizens Advisory Committee on Air Quality is in the process of restructuring its meeting schedule. It was noted that the next meeting of CACAQ was scheduled to be held on March 9th commencing at 5:00 p.m. which conflicts with the next meeting of the Environmental Committee. CACAQ have advised that they anticipate finalizing a meeting schedule at their March 9th meeting. Following a brief discussion it was agreed that, in order to determine the time commitment required, the appointment of Environmental Committee representatives would be set aside pending further information with respect to the CACAQ's meeting schedule. 2. TOUR - KUNTZ ELECTROPLATING INC. Ms. B. Roth, QMS/EMS Coordinator, welcomed members of the Committee and introduced several other employees of Kuntz Electroplating who would assist her in providing a tour of the Plant. Ms. Roth provided introduction to the Plant through a video presentation, followed by an oral presentation respecting Kuntz Electroplating's participation in the ISO 14001 Certification Program. Ms. Roth advised that, since 1996, Kuntz Electroplating has been certified to QS 9000 and ISO 9002. In 1997, Kuntz Electroplating began the process of integrating and implementing ISO 14001 with its current Quality Management System (QMS) and has been registered to ISO 14001 as of 1998. Ms. Roth reviewed various aspects of ISO 14001 certification, including reasons for implementation, benefits of implementation, development of environmental policies, impacts to inventory, achievements of Kuntz Electroplating and compliance with legislation to conduct regular audits. The Committee then recessed the meeting to undertake a site tour, following which the meeting reconvened at approximately 6:10 p.m. 3. HIGHWAY NO. 7 REALIGNMENT - UPDATE OF PROCESS The Committee was in receipt of a letter dated January 13, 2000 from Mr. M. Scott, McCormick Rankin Corporation, together with a plan showing proposed changes to the recommended alternative for the Highway 7 widening project. Mr. B. Stanley advised that a workshop had been held on January 15, 2000 to hear concerns of interest groups. During the workshop a request for background information was made and the Ministry has now provided extensive information detailing the project to date. In this regard, Mr. Stanley encouraged members of the Committee to avail themselves of this information which will be located in his office. Mr. Stanley pointed out that the Ministry will now proceed to make further presentations to local Councils, followed by a series of Open House public meetings. In this regard, he advised that the Ministry is scheduled to attend the Council meeting of February 28th at which time it is proposed that Council hear the presentation and then refer the matter back to the Environmental Committee and the Economic Development Advisory Committee for further consideration. ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY 10, 2000 -8- CITY OF KITCHENER HIGHWAY NO. 7 REALIGNMENT - UPDATE OF PROCESS (CONT'D) The Committee then entered into a brief discussion with respect to various aspects of the workshop. During this discussion, Councillor Jake Smola questioned if, following presentation to City Council, it would be necessary for the matter to be referred back to the Environmental Committee and Mr. Stanley responded that there were new alternatives being proposed for both the center section and the Kitchener section of the highway project which should be reviewed by the Committee. Mr. D. Daly advised that Parks and Recreation staff were in the process of developing plans for the Walter Biehn Trail in the area of Shirley Avenue. In this regard, he pointed out that some of the lands involved were owned by the Ministry of Transportation and he was concerned that the Highway 7 project may delay construction of the trail. Mr. Stanley pointed out that one of the proposals for Highway 7, known as the Vogel Alignment, may also affect ponds recently developed in the Victoria Street area and suggested that Mr. Daly undertake discussions with the Ministry's Consultant, McCormick Rankin, to apprise them of these concerns. VISION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ROUNDTABLE - COMMUNITY VISION AND STRATEGIC VISION PROJECT At the Committee's January 20th meeting, members were requested to complete the questionnaire contained in the Vision Workbook and submit their responses to the Secretary of the Committee. Ms. B. Luckhardt advised that she had received the responses from the Secretary, which have been compiled into chart form, and a copy was provided to the Committee. Ms. Luckhardt suggested that the responses be reviewed and any additional comments members may have be added. In particular, she felt that members should focus in on Question 4 relative to critical issues they would like to have addressed by the municipality. The Committee then reviewed each of the four questions and additional input was provided. With respect to Question 3 regarding the Committee's Vision for Kitchener, it was agreed to include the Mission Statements as contained in the Environmental Strategic Plan. Following discussion, it was agreed that the responses and additional comments made this date would be compiled together as the Environmental Committee's response to the Visioning Questionnaire and forwarded to Ms. M. Morrison, Project Coordinator for the Visioning Project. INFORMATION ITEMS The Committee was in receipt of the following information reports, namely: · excerpt from Council Minutes of January 14, 2000 - recommendation respecting funding in the 2000 Operating Budget of City Council for Earth Day Celebrations; · excerpt from Council Minutes of January 31, 2000 recommendation of January 20th Environmental Committee adopted by Council; · International Conference on Climate Change Communication - letter dated November 18, 1999 from University of Waterloo, Adaptation and Impacts Research Group Organizing Committee; · Sweet Grass Gardens - 1999 Price List - Six Nations of the Grand River; · The Grand Strategy Newsletter "Grand Actions" and Third Annual Heritage Day Workshop and Celebrations. ADJOURNMENT On motion, the meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m. J. Billett, AMCT Committee Administrator