Loading...
1997-06-12_Minutes 86-456 COMMON COUNCIL JUNE 12, 1997 At a meeting of the Common Council, held at the City Hall in the City of Saint John, on Thursday, the twelfth day of June, A.D. 1997, at 5:30 o'clock p.m. present Shirley McAlary, Mayor Councillors Arthurs, Ball, Brown, Chase, Fitzpatrick, Knibb, Trites, Vincent and Waldschutz - and - Messrs. 1. Totten, City Manager; J. Nugent, City Solicitor; D. Wilson, Commissioner of Finance; C. Robichaud, Commissioner of Municipal Operations; J. C. MacKinnon, Commissioner of Environment and Development Services; P. Groody, Commissioner of Human Resources; W. Edwards, Building Inspector; D. Sherwood, Chief of Police; G. Tait, Fire Chief; Mrs. M. Munford, Common Clerk; and Ms. C. Joyce, Assistant Common Clerk. 1. MeetinQ Called To Order - OpeninQ Prayer Mayor McAlary called this special meeting of Common Council to order, and offered the opening prayer. 2. Amendment To Garbage By-Law Re Tires And Possible TransportinQ Solid Waste On motion of Councillor Trites Seconded by Councillor Knibb RESOLVED that the report from the City Manager advising that recent Provincial legislation with respect to the purchasing and disposal of tires and the possibility of transporting solid waste to the Westmorland- Albert regional solid waste facility in Moncton require changes to the Garbage By-Law; and recommending that the following amendment to "A By-Law For The Storage, Collection And Disposal Of Solid Waste In The City Of Saint John, New Brunswick", be given first and second readings, and referred to the Legal Department -- be received and filed and the recommendation adopted: AND FURTHER that the by-law entitled, "A By-Law To Amend A By-Law For The Storage, Collection And Disposal Of Solid Waste In The City Of Saint John, New Brunswick", be read a first time. Question being taken, the motion was carried. Read a first time the by-law entitled, "A By-Law To Amend A By-Law For The Storage, Collection And Disposal Of Solid Waste In The City Of Saint John, New Brunswick. " On motion of Councillor Knibb Seconded by Councillor Arthurs RESOLVED that the by-law entitled, "A By-Law To Amend A By-Law For The Storage, Collection And Disposal Of Solid Waste In The City Of Saint John, New Brunswick", be read a second time. Question being taken, the motion was carried. Read a second time the by-law entitled, "A By-Law To Amend A By-Law For The Storage, Collection And Disposal Of Solid Waste In The City Of Saint John, New Brunswick." 86-457 COMMON COUNCIL JUNE 12, 1997 3. Solid Waste Disposal Site Consideration was given to a report from the City Manager advising his intent to provide Council with copies of draft agreements dealing with the issue of (1) construction of a temporary transfer station at Five Fathom Hole, and (2) the loading and hauling of waste from Five Fathom Hole to Westmorland-Albert. On motion of Councillor Trites Seconded by Councillor Knibb RESOLVED that whereas the City of Saint John is not prepared to continue operation of the Spruce Lake landfill after June 30, 1997, without a certificate of approval, the Mayor and Common Clerk be authorized to execute the submitted construction agreement with Galbraith Construction Ltd. Mr. Totten noted that he was unable to present to Council at this meeting the agreement referenced under (2) above; and explained that the essence of the construction agreement between the City of Saint John and Galbraith Construction Ltd. would have Galbraith Construction build, to the standards required by the Province of New Brunswick, a temporary transfer site located at Five Fathom Hole and, in return, the City would pay to Galbraith Construction approximately $185,000, plus HST, with the temporary site to be in sufficient size to handle the waste generated in the City of Saint John. Councillor Trites spoke on the basis of the approximate cost to the City in the vicinity of $1.6 to $1.9 million, not including the above construction cost, in utilizing long-haul trucks to Westmorland-Albert at $32 per tonne and a tipping fee of $52.50 plus HST, the cost of the management and operation of a transfer site of about $1.2 million in a six-month time frame, and the loss to the City at the current landfill site of about $750,000 in revenue which is now collected from the industrial users through their tipping fee, as well as the cost to industrial users over 6 months of approximately $1 million, for a total cost of about $3 million for both the City and industrial users; and suggested that there could be an opportunity for the Lorneville residents to generate some significant dollars for community development simply by extending for 4 more months, with no possibility of an extension past October 31, the operation of the Spruce Lake landfill, noting that the Minister of the Environment has indicated to the City that he was not prepared at this time to extend the operating agreement or certificate of approval for the Spruce Lake landfill, that elevation 60 would not be reached at the Spruce Lake landfill until October and also the October 31 target date for the Crane Mountain solid waste to be in place at which time the City would be in a position to haul its waste directly to that site at a significantly-reduced cost. Councillor Waldschutz advised that, prior to voting on the above motion, he would like to hear from Marguerite (Midge) Thompson at this time. On motion of Councillor Waldschutz Seconded by Councillor Vincent RESOLVED that Marguerite (Midge) Thompson and other persons who indicated their wish to speak be invited to address Council at this time. The Mayor noted the need for eight affirmative votes to pass the above motion and, in response to an indication by other people of the Five Fathom Hole area present at the meeting that they also wished to address Council, the mover and seconder of the above motion changed the motion so that all the people who identified themselves be permitted to speak with the request that they be as brief as possible. Question being taken, the motion was carried. Marguerite (Midge) Thompson, Chairperson of the Parish of Musquash Local Service District Advisory Committee, spoke on the basis that residents of Five Fathom Hole have chosen where they live because it is secluded, quiet and it is their preferred way of life and that they have had no say about having a different way of life inflicted on them; and advised that, aside from the emotional reason, there were a number of practical reasons why this should not happen to Five Fathom Hole residents, 86-458 COMMON COUNCIL JUNE 12, 1997 including that (1) the roadway network to that area was not constructed for heavy traffic and would suffer a great deal of damage at the end of four months, nor was it designed so that transport trucks and school buses could pass; (2) the Five Fathom Hole and the Parish of Musquash area, which falls under the umbrella of the Fundy Region Solid Waste Commission, would not benefit in the remotest way with this proposition, nor have the people there contributed to this particular problem, but rather the problem is solely that of the City of Saint John and should be resolved within the confines of the City's perimeters; (3) the residents concerned were not advised in this regard, even in confidentiality, as would normally be done when there is one government group plotting against another, in an attempt to come with an idea; (4) the site presently being prepared is less than a thousand feet from the marshes and there is a stream that runs nearby, thus a concern about leachate; (5) the City cannot manage getting its garbage to Lorneville without it strewing the highway, thus the mess would be extended along Highway 1 to Prince of Wales, and the City's present efforts in cleaning this up are not effective; and (6) the scent from the waste would attract wild animals and rats to the area. Leah Svenson of Prince of Wales expressed concern that the site concerned is ecologically fragile, situated within 500 yards of the marsh where nesting birds come in, including whooping cranes which are protected, and that there is a belief that there is a burial ground nearby, and also about the effect on such things as fiddleheads, trout, game and lobster in the area; advised that Prince of Wales residents were not consulted and feel that their way of life has been systemically raped and decimated; and asked Council to reconsider the site. David Green of Five Fathom Hole advised of the noise from the construction work in the area concerned and his concern about the safety of his children should the site attract more bears and other wildlife and because the road to the site was not meant for two large vehicles such as a school bus and a truck to be passing each other, and also his concern about the effect on the area in terms of its beauty and quietness, an increase in house flies which live and breed around a dump station, and its effect on the falcons, bald eagles, seals, porpoises, lobster, fish, and wildlife in the area. Keith Meehan of Five Fathom Hole appeared before Council and advised that he did not want the garbage in the area, nor the rats it would attract. Mr. Meehan apprised Council of his concerns about garbage being blown over the fence, more seagulls and bears in the area, the dump bringing coyotes closer to the homes, truck traffic, and the possible dumping along the road; and suggested alternate sites that Council could choose within the City of Saint John. Mr. Robichaud apprised Council of the appearance of the transfer site and the Department of the Environment conditions under which it would operate, as well as on the nature of the current work at the site in question; advised the anticipated number of vehicles per day to the transfer site based on a five-day check at the Saint John site and that the site would be surrounded with a fence from between 14 to 20 feet high which should help in trapping most of the airborne garbage before leaving the site, and that any leachate would be collected in a 10,000-gallon storage tank facility, pumped out by vacuum trucks and delivered to the Lancaster wastewater plant for treatment; and further advised the intended hours of operation of the transfer site. Question being taken, the motion was carried. 4. Parish Of Musquash Local Service District Advisory Committee - Objecting To Location Of Transfer Station At Five Fathom Hole On motion of Councillor Trites Seconded by Councillor Fitzpatrick RESOLVED that the letter from Marguerite (Midge) Thompson, Chairperson of the Parish of Musquash Local Service District Advisory Committee, objecting to the positioning of any proposed waste or garbage transfer station at Five Fathom Hole that may cause inconvenience due to 86-459 COMMON COUNCIL JUNE 12, 1997 increased traffic volume to that portion of the Parish or cause any possibility of environmental contamination to either public or private property within the Parish -- be received and filed. Question being taken, the motion was carried. The Mayor called the meeting adjourned. Common Clerk