Board of Directors Meeting Highlights – October 15th, 2021
On Friday October 15th, 2021, the Board of Directors of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) held its regular monthly meeting electronically. Highlights from the meeting included:
Discussion Paper from the NPCA’s Public Advisory Committee
Jackie Oblak, Chair of the NPCA’s Public Advisory Committee (PAC) presented for the Board’s consideration, a series of key issues and opportunities identified by her Committee specific to their representative sectors and relative to natural systems in the watershed and to the NPCA as a whole. The Board directed that staff investigate the points raised by the PAC and report back.
Niagara Peninsula Conservation Foundation
Tom Insinna, Chair of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Foundation (NCPF) appeared as a delegation to formally present the Foundation’s 2020 Annual Report and to highlight the accomplishment and achievements of the NPCF during the past year. The Annual Report is posted at https://niagaraconservationfoundation.com/ and donations to the Foundation can also be received via this website.
Watershed Planner / Open Data Hub
Brian Lee, NPCA GIS Administrator provided a demonstration of the NPCA’s open data portal which is available for public use. The portal can be found at the following link: https://gis-npca-camaps.opendata.arcgis.com/.
NPCA Water Well Decommissioning Grant Program Outreach Strategies
The Board of Directors received a report on the NPCA’s Water Well Decommissioning Grant Program. The Board was informed of the preliminary strategies in place to increase landowner awareness and involvement in the program. These strategies included: information on the NPCA website, cross-promotions on the City of Hamilton and City of Haldimand websites, outreach through the NPCA’s restoration program, and public awareness through septic installers and well drillers. More information on the program is available at https://npca.ca/well-decommissioning.
The Board was also informed of additional outreach opportunities planned including cross-promotions with Niagara Region and local municipalities, distribution of information materials through local channels such as libraries, distribution to landowners as appropriate, and circulation through the planned media campaign scheduled for this fall.
NPCA Strategic Plan: 2021-2031
The NPCA achieved a significant milestone at this meeting with Board approval of the Strategic Plan 2021-2023, reaffirming the NPCA’s commitment to the mandate and purpose of Conservation Authorities in Ontario. The strategic plan process was led by staff under the direction of the C.A.O. with Board Strategic Planning Committee oversight. Extensive input from watershed residents, stakeholders and environmental non-government organizations was received and incorporated with support from the consulting firm of StrategyCorp. Each of the strategic priorities detailed in the plan had specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely goals as well as comprehensive performance metrics to measure the success of the organization's activities.
The Board was briefed on the next steps for the 2021-2031 Strategic Plan that included the development of an operational plan that sets out specific actions to enable the NPCA to meet its goals in collaboration with its communities and partners from 2021 to 2031. As work progresses, outcomes will be monitored and shared publicly through the NPCA’s Annual Reports.
Update to NPCA Conservation Authorities Act Section 28 Hearing Procedures
Following the changes made by Bill 229, Protect, Support and Recover from COVID-19 Act (Budget Measures), 2020, the Board of Directors directed that the NPCA’s Conservation Authorities Act Section 28 Hearing Procedures be updated based on the amended Conservation Ontario Model Hearing Guidelines.
NPCA Staff will be bringing forward the updated NPCA CA Act Section 28 Hearing Procedures as part of the Administrative By-law, to be updated by the end of 2021, as per Provincial requirements resulting from the Conservation Authorities Act regulatory changes. NPCA Staff will also be collaborating with Conservation Ontario to develop appropriate training materials for the Board of Directors regarding hearing procedures in the future.
Links to Agendas, Minutes and Video:
https://npca.ca/administration/board-meetings