City Council Meeting September 24, 2012

Hello FOMC,

We need your support!

The proposal to rezone a parcel of land along Fish Lake Rd (opposite Raven's Ridge) from Future Planning to Country Residential is coming before City Council for 2nd and 3rd reading on Monday, September 24, 7:30pm.  This rezoning amendment also proposes a road and power line to service the property, both of which would run through land designated as McIntyre Creek Park.  The Friends of McIntyre Creek and others have expressed serious concerns to City Council and Administration about the potential environmental and esthetic impacts of this infrastructure on a public park, particularly in a sensitive riparian zone and significant wildlife area.

After initially recommending that the land be rezoned to allow development of this private residence to proceed, City Administration has since decided to recommend that the rezoning not be approved and that the City enter into discussions for purchase of the property so that it may be retained as wilderness area.  The Friends of McIntyre Creek support this latest recommendation.

However, regardless of what the City Administration recommends, City Council has the ultimate say and on September 24 will be voting whether or not to proceed with the rezoning. 

Please come out to this meeting to stop this precedent setting rezoning and send City Council the strong message that we do not support development of this nature in McIntyre Creek Park. 

Thank-you!

McIntyre Creek Cleanup September 16, 2012

There was a good turn out for the cleanup in spite of the winds today.  There was representation from the Bird Club, Klondike Snowmobile Association, Fish & Game Association,  Yukon Conservation Society and I am sure there were others that I was not able to identify.

The BBQ was supplied by Yukon Fish and Game.  A big  thank  to Yukon Electric for their contribution towards the food provided for the BBQ.

There were some interesting participants including the little dog, and the young ATV'er with the green punk hair helmet.

This is just some of the garbage that was collected between 10 am and 12 noon.  The collection 

continued until 2 pm.

Sept 15, 2012 - Fence protected by rocks

On a recent hike I was happy to see that the City had placed some protective rocks in front of the newly reconstructed fence, restored by the Yukon College staff. The rocks aren't very large, and bigger boulders would have given me more confidence that it would be a deterrent to the vandals, but I guess time will tell.

I have  requested several times  that the City also place a boulder between the concrete cyclinders where vandals came through, and trashed the tree stakes, but unfortunately that has not yet happened.  I guess we need to wait 2 or 3 years between when work is requested, and when it is decided to follow through and do it.  I still say it is better to prevent vandals, rather than trying to clean up after the fact to repair the damage, but it seems that is not the City's point of view.

This area is wide enough for an ATV to pass through, as I have seen City By-law officers navigate through in previous years, as well as ATV'ers driving through to run their vehicles in the marshes along the Creek and small lake.

Today I saw some people in the Creek near the pump house, and learned that they were from the College and were testing water levels and flow.  The small lake has returned to a more respectable level, and the mud flats have been covered with water.  This really makes me sure that the problem was not a beaver dam breaking, but rather some water control above the pump house level.  I do hope with the College students monitoring the flow that this will give statistics as to really what is happening.

REMINDER:  The cleanup for McIntyre Creek will be Sunday, September 16 from 10 am - 2 pm, with a BBQ at 12 by the Bird watching gazebo off Fish Lake Road.  I am looking forward to some good food, including veggie burgers, and even dessert, so we hope to see you all out to help with the cleanup.  The weather is expected to be reasonable, so there is no excuse not to show up and show your support.  Everyone is welcome!

sepember 11, 2012

Larger, and more rocks have been place on the paved trail leading from Takhini to the park trails.  I had hoped that the boulders would also be placed by the wood fence, and on the trail heads, but as usual, this hasn't been a priority for the City.

The water levels have risen at the little pond, so I have to think that broken beaver dams were not the reason the water levels were so low.  The rain we have had all year would have kept the levels pretty much the same, and with snow and freezing in the mountains, it can't be melting that is filling the lake again.  So why was it desperately low with mud banks everywhere, and a week later, the mud has been covered by water again?

It was nice to see students from the Yukon College in the woods yesterday, some from biology class, and I am not sure which class was testing the water and learning to use their equipment, but this just confirms the value of the area for education.

 

You are reminded that there will be a cleanup along the Creek September 16.