KING EDWARD REVETMENT
A seventeen property revetment has been proposed for King Edward for the winter of 2023/24. There are no engineers involved as rules suggest is necessary, it follows only selected hand-picked criteria from the Baird Report, and there is no guarantee by anyone — including council — for the costly sand replenishment and nourishment to accompany it, virtually insuring the eventual destruction of the beach in front of it. Yes, the loss of King Edward beach is now a very real possibility for our community. A community built because of the beaches.
We thought that revetments had been put to rest by the Baird Report and all the science presented a decade ago. That there was a permanent moratorium or revetments. But the new council seems to be ignoring the past, the science, and the beliefs of the community that was drafted shortly after the last revetment debacle.
This new council has been provided with all the facts, including masses of emails from its constituents, as well as twelve quality delegations at council meetings by concerned citizens. You should be in informed with the facts too. Please click here to be informed and make your decisions on the facts and not the emotion.
SNOWMOBILES IN THE OFF SEASON
UPDATE: Due to an overwhelming response by our membership as well as other cottagers throughout the RMVB, By-Law 1614 was passed — without further revisions. Thanks to everyone for standing up and voicing their concerns.
We must be aware that every time we allow the free use of motorized vehicles in the VRA we move one step closer to opening the door to year round vehicle use in the VRA. This issue is not only about snowmobiles in the long term. There can be other ramifications down the road.
At the February 2nd Council meeting a proposal was put forward by Councillor Bartmanovich to allow off-road vehicles on our roads, avenues and lanes in order that owners may drive rather than either trailer their vehicles between their residences and legal ORV trails or park them at the Sports Club launch point beside the police station. Council temporarily rejected the proposal and passed By-Law 1614 which the VBCOA Board supports.
However, it appeared from the meeting that Councillors Bartmanovich, Kumka and Randle will propose amending the By-Law in favour of allowing ORV’s on our roadways at the February 16th meeting.
These three constitute a majority.
The VBCOA Board is encouraging members to write to the Municipal Council at vicbeach@mymts.net expressing your view regarding the driving of off-road vehicles within the vehicle restricted area. Please also copy us at: vbcoaexec@gmail.com
For further details and facts about how this all played out, please see the http://vbcoa.ca/news/ page.
FIRE SMART CONCERNS
There are plans presently in motion by the RMVB to do some culling of the avenues and roads in the restricted area to create greater visibility for emergency vehicles. We have heard all kinds of scenarios ranging from light brush removal/trimming to large beautiful trees being removed. Or that the road plus the clearings beside the gravel will stay the same or be widened to a total of twenty feet. Council has been vague about what is or isn’t true or if it lies somewhere in between. We are actively trying to encourage Council to make the discussions public in accordance with the Municipal Act. In addition, provide a firm description of the plan as well as its limitations so that the community clearly understands what is to be done and the ramifications of the plan before work begins. THEN we can respond accordingly. Thus far it seems clear the majority of the membership does not want a complete overhaul and widening of any of our avenues without just cause and without cottage owner consultation. We hope to have news very soon.
Our Specific Fire Smart Concerns:
- The RM has sponsored a series of Provincial FireSmart meetings and is about to begin discussions about what if anything the RM should do to mitigate the threat of fire. The VBCOA supports these discussions being public in accord with the Manitoba Municipal Act.
- One suggestion has been to widen the cleared areas beside the Avenues and Roads to a total of 20 ft (gravel road plus cleared forest beside the road), and in addition, to clear the overhanging canopy to up to 20 ft. The rationale is emergency vehicle safety. Currently the majority of gravel plus cleared forest is between 11 and 15 ft. wide so 20 ft would have significant negative impact on the character of the beach as would cutting away the canopy.
- There have also been suggestions about clearing some live trees within the 99 ft and 66 ft road allowances throughout the Vehicle Restricted Area and the rest of the RM although the Reeve indicated in response to a question at the August 20 meeting that there were no plans to do so.
- Another suggestion put forward is to remove the dead fall and standing dead trees in the RM’s road allowances and possibly other municipal property. The rationale here is that dead trees and dead-fall are extremely dangerous fire risks and their removal would be an efficient and effective way to significantly reduce fire risk without altering the character of VB.
We will be sending out a letter from the Reeve indicating that the plans will be under discussion very soon.
We trust that the council will consult publicly before taking action and we will continue to communicate with Council and our membership on this issue.
See our latest information on this issue on the NEWS page!
GARBAGE PICKUP AND RECYCLING
It’s hard to argue that the recycle and garbage drop-off area by the parking lot had to change. It was an eyesore at the front gates, a health hazard and a bear magnet.
It seems the newly installed bear clamps to prevent the bears access to the bins was a success! Bravo!
However, the newest solution is drawing less than stellar reviews.
As of September 3rd, the distance to take our garbage and recycling from within the VRA has drastically increased. The garbage and recycle bins are now a kilometer down the highway in the Public Works area. Even more bewildering, you will have to further carry your recyclables and climb up a number of stairs to dispose of it. Not exactly convenient for the aging population in the VRA!
Nor does it seem very safe to have people and children travelling on foot or bike down the highway to dispose of their garbage or recycling.
Here is what the new location looks like:
There are numerous other possibly better, easier and safer solutions that people are talking about. Why was there no request from the community for ideas or solutions? Why not publicly ask for ideas? Yes, setting up a committee or task force adds a little time, but it also usually produces the best results.
Furthermore, for a number of years the garbage pick up on a Tuesday in the restricted area has been perplexing, Many feel a Monday pickup would be far more beneficial to the restricted area than a Tuesday as we are without vehicles. Many leave and put out their garbage on a Sunday night before heading to the parking lot and then back to the city. The bears love that! Those outside the VRA have a much easier task and surely could have theirs picked up on another day, since they can easily drop off their garbage if necessary via their vehicle anytime.
Our community has been very good about participating in recycling efforts. It shows a strong desire to protect our environment. It does not take too much of a stretch of the imagination to see that there will likely be a big drop off in such efforts going forward, since it has now become a much more arduous and dangerous task for those in the restricted area.
There must be a better way.
While we will wait to see the reaction from the restricted area residents, in the interim we look forward to opening up a dialogue immediately with membership to see if there are better alternatives. We encourage members to talk more about this on our newly created private FaceBook page for all members: VBCOA
ALGAE BLOOMS
We are all aware of the ever increasing algae blooms on Lake Winnipeg. We will be lobbying Winnipeg City, Provincial and Federal governments to do something to reverse the effects of this ongoing disaster by the continuous polluting of the lake. We will also show support to any groups trying to do the same. Recently, our RMVB joined others around the lake requesting the city to clean up the north end sewage treatment plant. This is a great step and we encourage our local council to get loud and constant to all regulated bodies and government that the reckless treatment of our precious lake stops! We also encourage every member to write to your local government and city officials to start taking action before it is too late.
TRANS CANADA/GREENWAY TRAILS
There are discussions presently ongoing about what to do with the Greenway Trails outside of the restricted area. The decisions rendered by council will affect the community in both a physical enjoyment and monetary way.
For a full and comprehensive introduction to this new issue, please visit the NEWS page.