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September 2016 Update

Dear Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour,

1) Sean Field’s Excellent Water Policy Suggestions for Urban Gardeners
2) Inner Harbour Reminders: Dragon Boats, RRFM, Artsperience, History
3) North King’s Town Re-Visioning:
Indigenous Community Talking Circle, Sept 19

4) North King’s Town Community Open House: Sept 19
5) Urban K&P Trail Update
6) Turtles and K&P Trail at Doug Fluhrer Park and the Woolen Mill
7) Council Meeting Sept 20 re Capitol High Rise Project!
8) Book Launch: Boiling Point: Government Neglect, Corporate Abuse, and Canada’s Water Crisis
9) Historic Inner Harbour house for sale
10) Bailey Broom Factory Update

1) Water Policy Suggestions for the City’s Urban Gardeners:
Congrats to Sean Field for his advocacy on behalf of the city’s vegie growers.  He has an excellent recommendation that the city adopt/adapt the City of Guelph’s external water management plan and leverage its existing assets to promote sustainable urban food production.
https://seansfieldcom.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/field-2016-brief-report-on-the-city-of-kingston_s-water-by-laws-and-external-water-use-restrictions.pdf

2) Event Reminders:
Sat, Sept 17, Kingston Dragon Boat Festival, Doug Fluhrer Park
– www kingstondragonboat.com
Sun, Sept 18, 12-3 pm: Really Really Free Market – See Facebook page
Sat, Sept 24, 11-3: Artsperience, Calvary United Church, 45 Charles St. 613-536-7097
Sat, Sept 24, 1 pm: “The Loyalist Experience through War, Displacement and Settlement from the Mohawk Valley to the St. Lawrence River” St. Paul’s Anglican Church (Queen & Montreal)

3) North King’s Town Re-Visioning: Indigenous Community Talking Circle:
Mon, Sept 19, 2016, 1:30-3:00 pm, Memorial Hall, City Hall (216 Ontario St).
Discuss the future of the North King’s Town area (including Belle Island).
More info? www.cityofkingston.ca/NorthKingsTown or contact Sonya Bolton at 613-546-4291 x3237 or sbolton@cityofkingston.ca.
Light snacks and refreshments provided.

4) North King’s Town Re-Visioning: Community Open House:
Mon, Sept 19, 6:30 p.m., Memorial Hall, City Hall (216 Ontario Street).
Presentation: 7:00 p.m.: DIALOG Design
Following the presentation those present are invited to discuss the material in a workshop format and provide initial feedback. DIALOG Design will then refine their draft report and release the full draft document on the City’s website by Sept 28. Next will be a two-week period for review and comments. Also planned is a smaller drop-by open house during the first part of October for those that may have questions once the document has been posted.
Details in process.  Stay tuned.
The NKT webpage has been updated to include the short consultation summaries for the events held later in the summer including the Princess Street Promenade + the pop-up consultations at the Kingston Community Health Centre on Weller Avenue and the Chat-a-Bit Station on Montreal Street, as well as feedback from visits by staff to the Old Industrial Area in June and July. See NKT consultation.

5) City Update on the Urban K&P Trail:
“On Road Sections:  The on road (in the road allowance) sections of the K&P trail along Dalton Ave and Cattail Place are paved with a 3m wide asphalt pathway and a metre of grass separating the trail from the road where possible.
Some new sidewalks on Rideau and River St. have been completed.  Upgrades to a number of intersections (pavement markings across roads) are also complete.
Off Road Sections:
The off road sections are also moving ahead.  In the section between River St. and Hickson Ave, Cruikshank Construction has been clearing the trail route.  An arborist and biologist have been assessing both bird nesting activity and tree stock prior to this initial trail clearing.  No nests were found and significant groups of trees are being retained.  There will be selective pruning of the preserved trees to ensure safe passage of cyclists and pedestrians.  The width of the tree clearing extends well beyond the footprint of the trail.  Once this section has been cleared, the trail area will be graded, and a base of course granular will be placed to provide a stable base for the 3m wide asphalt pathway.
The contractor will also be working on the east side of Rideau at Montreal to create a trail entry.  This is a highly visible entry point to the trail and sight lines into this dense and overgrown area will be opened up to provide safe passage and comfort for trail users.  A secondary trail link will connect Belle Park.  The work will include clearing and grubbing vegetation, removal of garbage and debris, slope stabilization, native tree and shrub planting as well as the construction of the trail itself.”
For overview: https://www.cityofkingston.ca/city-hall/projects-construction/urban-kp-trail
Questions? Neal Unsworth (613-546-4291,x1811) or Kris Hebert (613-546-4291,x1256)

Also FYI: The K&P trail alignment through Doug Fluhrer Park is designed to follow the existing waterfront pathway for the most part looping up to the road at the south end.  In addition, the disability pathway proceeding down the hill from North St. to the park and the sidewalk and pathway in front of the Leeuwarden Condominium have been completed.  Do take your bike and have a ride on the completed road sections.  They look pretty nice.

6) Turtles and the K&P Trail at Doug Fluhrer Park and the Woolen Mill:
Recent communication from Kris Hebert in the City’s Parks Department:
“Doug Fluhrer Park (DFP) and Molly Brant Point have had (120) nests identified over the summer months. Cages that protected potential/confirmed turtle nest locations were removed to allow for emerging hatchings mid-summer. Staff are very appreciative of the interest and volunteer hours that have gone into this endeavor and wish to thank the numerous community volunteers who continue to inspect and be on the lookout for emergent turtle species in the area.
In late May the City invested in turtle exclusion fencing by the rock ledges near the bend by Molly Brant Point, as a strategy to allow construction of the K & P Trail to proceed to meet its Council endorsed deadline. This was done under site supervision with a turtle biologist.  Despite the turtle exclusion fencing being compromised by pedestrians/joggers, the good news is there is evidence that hatchlings have emerged from nests both from within and outside of the exclusion fencing.  At least 8 nests with egg shell scatter are confirmed. According to Susan Irving from Sandy Pines the shell scatter did not look like predated eggs but true emergent hatchlings.
Work in the area of Molly Brant Point is to begin late in the week of Sept 12-16 under contract with Cruikshank Construction. The September 15 start date was set by environmental best practices from the CRCA and our biologist. In the area of the turtle exclusion fencing we have a plan to search the site for any viable eggs that haven’t hatched during the normal gestation period and facilitate incubation off site at the wildlife centre using appropriate biological protocols. This work will be done under the guidance of both Susan Irving from Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre and turtle biologist, Teresa Piraino (MMM Group) next week.”
In addition, we have been told that 8 trees have been set aside from the culling done for the trail to be used as basking trees for turtles in Doug Fluhrer Park along with creation of a gravel nesting area near the water.  A great improvement from our  guerrilla efforts to bring basking logs to the park in the spring.  Our logs floated away.  These will be secured in place in a much more professional manner.
Should be wonderful.

7) Council Meeting where 15 storey downtown tower will be proposed for the old Capitol Movie Theatre building.  Tues, Sept 20, Council Chambers, City Hall, 7:30 pm.  For information visit Vision for Kingston Facebook page as well as www.cityofkingston.ca closer to the date to view the council agenda. This proposal flies in the face of the peer review by experts who say it is completely out of keeping with Kingston’s heritage downtown.

8) Book Launch: Boiling Point: Government Neglect, Corporate Abuse, and Canada’s Water Crisis
Maude Barlow – Wed, Sept 21, 5pm – The Grad Club (162 Barrie St)
Boiling Point: Government Neglect, Corporate Abuse, and Canada’s Water Crisis, Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow’s newest book, lays bare the issues facing Canada’s water reserves, including long-outdated water laws, unmapped and unprotected groundwater reserves, agricultural pollution, industrial-waste dumping, boil-water advisories, and the effects of deforestation and climate change. She also crafts a compelling blueprint for Canada’s water security. Water scarcity will be the defining issue of the coming decade, and most of us have no idea that it is on our very own doorstep.
Join Maude in Kingston (including book signings) as part of her cross-country tour. Seating is limited so arrive early.

9) Historic Inner Harbour House for Sale
Part of 110/112 Rideau St, the former home of the young John A. Macdonald, that belonged to his family for 73 years, is for sale by Donna Ivey and Norma Kelly, owners since 2002.  Listed at $499,99.00. Marni Lockington of Re/Max will arrange inspection of the property. http://www.remax.ca/on/kingston-real-estate/na-110-rideau-street-na-crea_id17265911-lst/

10) Bailey Broom Factory Update:
http://www.rawdesign.ca/#window/400.
At the last council meeting there was an “In Camera” meeting about Raw Design’s proposal for the old factory. As yet, we don’t know what was said.
The following is from the Raw Design webpage:
“Located in a vibrant and transforming creative district in downtown Kingston, the Bailey Broom Factory is a brownfield site currently owned by the City. The existing building, designed in the 1900s by prominent Kingston architect William Newlands, was slated for demolition until community outcry compelled the City to designate the building as heritage. RAW has offered to purchase the property, stabilize the site and restore the existing building, transforming a deteriorating eye-sore into an exciting and marketable emblem for the neighbourhood. Proposed uses for the building include a small RAW branch office, an affordable accelerator space for local start-ups, and a café to serve as a hub for neighbourhood gathering and discussion, fortifying the connection between small scale business and the surrounding community.”

Hope to see you at some of these September happenings.  And if you happen to see any turtle hatchlings, do take pics and send them on.
Empty nests are so tantalizing.
Cheers,
Mary Farrar, President,
Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour