Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 10:18 a.m. by Nigel Allwood, President of the Stokes Bay Ratepayers Association, delayed for the arrival of the invited Council Members.

Purpose
This was an information meeting open to any member of the public who wished to attend.

Attendance
In attendance were: invited guest, OPP Staff Sergeant Mario Bartens, members of the Association, members of the Stokes Bay Community and members of the general public.

Approval of Agenda
The Agenda was distributed to the membership and copies were available at the door. President Allwood read the Agenda and a motion to accept the agenda was presented.

Motioned by: Nigel Allwood

Seconded by: Phil Westbrook

Carried

Adoption of Minutes
The Minutes of the General Membership Meeting of July 3, 2004 had been distributed to the membership. A motion to accept the minutes as distributed was presented.

Motioned by: Nigel Allwood

Seconded by: Phil Westbrook

Carried

Minute of Silence
A minute of silence was observed for all the US and International victims of September 11th, 2001.

OPP Staff Sergeant Mario Bartens
At the request of the membership, for the attendance of a representative of the OPP, President Allwood was pleased to welcome OPP Staff Sergeant Mario Bartens. President Allwood stated the membership was interested in mainly two items: 1) – the general enforcement of speed limits and traffic rules around town and 2) – ATVs. He stated also, having had discussions with the OPP, they were in a bit of a bind and their hands were tied until the proper signage is corrected by the municipality. Sgt Bartens stated the 40 sign on the road into town from Clarke's Corner is illegal and will have to be removed. All signs must show km/h. President Allwood mentioned he a discussion he had with Sgt Young, at the Wiarton station. Sgt Young noted the signage showing the drop from 80 km/h to 50 km/h was illegal without a sign stating the change ahead and also the drop in speed should be no more than 20 km/h at a time. Sgt Bartens said he would look into these two matters and discuss them with council.

Sgt Bartens then commenced his presentation on the problem of speeding, mainly the speedway created with the newly finished Tamarac Road. Sgt Bartens stated, there is only a two-man traffic detail for the whole of the peninsula, which spreads time a little thin but we try to move them around. We have purchased a portable radar speed point sign that is on a trailer and can be placed at the side of the road for on-coming drivers. It displays the speed of the vehicle and below, the posted limit. We have had pretty good reports on the success of the sign and it has shown that people will tend to slow down. This will be moved around the peninsula but we need volunteers to put the signs out in the morning and take them in at night to avoid vandalism. The traffic unit, which only runs from April to October, will have a schedule made up, but we need the public's assistance as volunteers to make this work. At this time there were no questions or comments for Sgt Bartens.

Sgt Bartens continued on to his presentation on ATVs:
One year ago the provincial government passed a regulation to the highway traffic act. Basically, it gives the municipalities the authority to pass a by-law to allow ATVs on municipal roads. In our area, the province has allowed the section on Hwy 6 between the Colpoy's corner to the Dyers Bay Road. The county has the authority to pass by-laws to allow ATVs on county roads, and they are still doing research on it. Enforcement though, comes under the provincial legislation. All ATVs must be the 4-wheel type only and only one person per machine. The 3-wheel ATVs are out. Only one person may be allowed on a machine at one time, even though there are two seats. If you have two seats, some people use it to strap on a toolbox. The driver must be licensed with a G2/M2 license or greater, and the vehicle must be licensed and insured, just like a car. The driver must wear a helmet. If the machine is built after a certain date, it must have break lights and headlights that work.

At this point, one resident stated he is having a problem with the ATVs trespassing on his property, even though he has 7 No Trespassing signs posted. Sgt Bartens told him that if he could identify the driver or drivers and give the police a statement, they can be charged with trespass and have to go to court. If you have special times these ATVs are causing problems, list the times. If you know of particular people you are having problems with ATVs and know where they live, give the office a call and we can go around and talk to them, or maybe even give them a warning. Sgt Bartens continued. A few ruin it for everyone. It has been in the papers, in order to make people aware, that the Ontario Federation of ATV Clubs realize this is an issue and they're trying to educate their members. The County hosted a meeting, prior to last summer, with all the user groups, including the people who operate the snowmobile clubs and cross- country ski trails, and they are all having issues with the ATVs coming on their property. They are embarking on an education program, trying to get their members and other ATV riders to follow the rules. It has taken a long time to get the legislation and education out there. The trespass law takes care of those that go on private property. For private property you can put up 4 inch in diameter red circle sign and it must be visible from all points of entry. If you are still having problems with trespassing, visit the OPP office and see one of the sergeants or Dave Meyer to get exactly what's needed for your situation. You will have all the correct information you need to save having a bigger problem.

At this time Sgt Bartens continued with the following information:
ATVs must travel at the following speed limits: 20 km/h for 50 km/h roads and 50 km/h for roads with speed limits over 50 km/h. The off-road vehicle act has different rules. No owner of an off-road vehicle shall permit a child under the age of 12 to drive said vehicle, except where the child is driving the vehicle on land occupied by the owner or under close supervision of an adult. Three wheeled vehicles would only be allowed, if the driver, a farmer, was going from farm to farm to do farming or crossing farm property across the road.

If you have any specific questions or issues, you can get hold of us at our office:

534-1323 from Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., or

1-888-310-1122 at the dispatch centre for non-emergency problems you are having and they can send someone out.

President Allwood thanked Sgt Bartens for his time and information at which there was a round of applause by all.

There is information on the ATV Legislation at the following website: www.mto.on.ca/ select the Drivers & Vehicles tab, scroll down to the bottom of the page to the section named New and click on Changes to Ontario's Off-Road Vehicles Legislation/Regulations.

Council Members of the Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula
President Allwood stated:
I talked to Betsy Stewart several times and the last time as late as last Thursday. She had assured me that the Mayor, Patricia Greig and herself were coming. They had previously asked us to submit an agenda of the questions they were going to be asked so they could prepare answers to them. I had advised them that this was going to be an open meeting for all the citizens, not only association members, to discuss their issues with council concerning the ATVs, speed limits, but we were not going to bring up the street lights. I will talk to Betsy, there may have been something else that came up to prevent them from coming but I will also register our displeasure that they could not even take the time to contact us about their not coming.

At this time several others noted their displeasure.

Letter from the Fire Chief to the Association
The letter was read by President Allwood to ask for volunteers from the community to aid in the formation of a Municipality Smoke Alarm Committee. Our municipality is not big enough to have a Home Inspection Group as the larger communities in the province have. Volunteers are needed to get together to assist in doing home inspections. There could possibly be training, and/or possible delivery of pamphlets. President Allwood will get in touch with the Fire Chief and ask for further information as to what would be involved.

This has now been tabled for discussion at the township level.

Open to the Floor
President Allwood opened the floor for discussion. The following items were brought up:

1. Having a walking path next to the road or possibly a white line put on the road to signify a walking lane. It was pointed out that the white lines that already exist on some roads signify a bike lane. Some suggested a gravel path be created or some type of medium that could be used expressly as a walking path. A discussion ensued but with no resolution.


2. Have the Community Centre approach hydro to put shielding on the streetlights to conform to the Dark Sky Proclamation. It was also suggested that getting together with other communities and as a group, ask Council to approach Hydro to bring all the lights on the peninsula up to the standard of the Dark Sky Proclamation. It was stated that the new lights would be more cost effective also.


3. Several items were brought up for discussion but none at length, mainly again, to do with council not showing up. It was also suggested that maybe we should invite them to one of our meetings, but not the annual general meeting. It was also suggested that we could possibly raise the number of meetings to maybe 3 a year.

Adjournment
A motion to adjourn was brought forward at 12:35 p.m. by Phil Westbrook.