Snow Lake residents recently took notice of some clearing taking place in the area between the Golden Vista Block and the shoreline of Snow Lake. There were opinions expressed; however, they may have been formed without knowing all the facts.
For the town’s part, CAO Jordan Willner advised that he drove by the block on May 7 and noted trees downed. On May 19 he got involved after tentatively identifying it as town-owned property, and on June 7 he received written confirmation of the fact.
Willner said town council discussed the preliminary nature of the Golden Vista Shoreline Development in camera on June 7 and requested Golden Vista’s president, Dave Koop, attend the
June 21 meeting, so the town could approve the clearing and he could proceed.
A spokesperson for the province said, “The Province of Manitoba had no role in the approval process of this project once it was determined the land in question was considered public reserve, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Town of Snow Lake.”
Another side of the story, and a thorough explanation of the work, came to light through a presentation by Koop during the town’s June 21 meeting.
Koop began his presentation by saying that it was not until after they had started the tree clearing that Golden Vista was informed that they should approach the Town of Snow Lake as well as Manitoba Conservation with their plans and reasoning. They did so via a letter on May 20. In that letter they advised that they recently had the land professionally surveyed and had encountered water drainage issues based on current landscaping and building layout.
“An old drainage ditch was dug out in the 1980s, in between the building and the lake,” explained Koop. “This ditch was originally put in to drain spring melt and heavy rain runoff, but now with the new shape of the land it has had zero effect. Also, it was full of deadfall and needed a good cleaning.”
Koop said that Golden Vista approached the local conservation office, asking if they could get a permit to clear the trees in order to remedy the drainage problem and put in new ditches.
Koop said that in addition to the problems caused by erosion, there was a tremendous amount of garbage in the area, as well as piles of dry old growth that was a fire hazard.
“Our plan was to clean this up, plant some new trees, make the front of our building very attractive and safe from any bush fires,” said Koop. “The permit was granted May 1, 2016 and we proceeded with what we thought was the legal route.”
Koop said that in order for them to address the erosion issue they requested permission to build a small rock wall to keep erosion at bay.
“This wall is recommended in the Manitoba (Canada) Oceans and Fisheries Guide and is called the rip rap method,” said Koop. “At the same time, we would like to put a dock in, as some of the seniors have boats. For the water runoff from the north and south side of the building, we would like to create small ditches that would run into the current larger ditch.”
He noted that this would involve very little digging to make the connection. They would then fill the ditches with proper and approved rock that would allow proper drainage.
“To aid with getting the rocks into place we would like to create a crushed limestone pathway that would later be turned into a walking path for seniors to get to our dock with their wheelchairs or walkers,” said Koop. “We also can use this path to bring field stones to build our rip rap rock wall.”
Koop provided photographs, survey plans, illustrations and legislation to augment his narrative. He closed by saying, “Our goal is simply to maintain the natural beauty of our property and keep the shoreline from eroding away.”
Koop answered several council members’ questions on elevations, landscaping and engineering. One question from Councillor Richard Jones seemed to consolidate the collective concern of the community. Richard asked why the figure of 25 per cent removal of trees wasn’t followed.
Koop explained what they encountered once on foot in the area: mature trees rotting from poor drainage, garbage, piles of dirt that remained from the original drainage project and unencumbered erosion of the shoreline. He reiterated that when finished, the area would be esthetically like a park and that they had even gone so far as to retain the services of a horticulturist for future tree planting.
Councillor Brenda Forsyth asked what the time frame would be on getting the work done.
With a chuckle, Koop said that they have been currently stopped in their tracks, but could have much of the work accomplished by the end of the current summer and the erosion abatement wall would have to wait for the following summer.
Jones noted that the development would be on town land and wondered what would happen if someone other than a resident sat in the park or used the dock. Koop replied that it would be the same as any homeowner’s dock on the lake. “Common courtesy would rule,” he said. “We also would encourage people to use our park and visit the seniors in the building. That’s a wonderful thing.”
Mayor Kim Stephens thanked Koop for attending and stated that the council looked forward to working with Golden Vista in bringing the plan to fruition. They approved the development via a unanimous resolution.
