The Milne Road Bridge Replacement

Thanks to Mr. Walter Schmid, Bracebridge Public Works Engineer, who has provided the following information. Replacement of Milne Road Bridge will commence between December 9 – 13, 2013. During this time period, Milne Road Bridge will be open for vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

On December 17, 2013 between the hours of 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM, the bridge installation will take place. During this time period, vehicular traffic will NOT be able to cross the creek. However, emergency services will continue to be provided.

Please note that the above dates are part of the anticipated schedule for the bridge replacement. The schedule may change due to inclement weather.

Milne Road has been graded

Milne Road North of the Bridge has been graded. Thank you Bracebridge Public Works Department!!!

Do you want to contest your property assessment?

The Provincial Government with the help of WRAFT, CAPTR and pressure from many Cottagers Associations have frozen assessments for 2 years. Your property was reassessed in 2012.  If you would like to contest your property assessment, you need to file a Request for Reassessment (RFR).

To do this, go to www.aboutmyproperty.ca.  On this website you can view your own property profile and check it for accuracy, and get free detailed Information on properties that are similar to yours.  Remember only the dwelling need be similar (square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, basement or not), landscaping and other esthetics are not important at this point. Drive around your lake, other lakes, Bracebridge, Gravenhurst etc. and and when you see a similar property write down the address (911 number) and street name. You may use non-waterfront properties but you will have to allow for the difference in property value. You may call MPAC Bracebridge Office at 705-645-8994 and get the value of your property (land only) that was used for your 2012 assessment, also obtain from MPAC a property figure for non waterfront property owners. You are better off locating your own properties for comparison.

You have until March 31, 2014 to submit your RFR for 2013 Tax year and may resubmit annually for further reductions.

BE AS DETAILED AS POSSIBLE TO MAKE THE POINT THAT YOUR ASSESSMENT IS OUT OF LINE. ALSO MAKE SURE YOU GIVE MPAC A VALUE THAT YOUR ASSESSMENT SHOULD BE IN YOUR LETTER BASED ON YOUR ANALYSIS.

Pictures speak a thousand words, take pictures of the properties you used for your comparison, identify with address and include in you cover letter along with pictures of your home.

Contact me for Excel Spreadsheets for use on your RFR, once you begin to enter the data for your property and comparison properties you have selected the chart and graphs will emerge on the Excel Spreadsheet.

Bernie Jaroscak bjaroscak@ncweb.com

The Milne Road bridge due in Nov 2013

Just spoke with Mr. Walter Schmid, Bracebridge PW Engineer, regarding Milne Road Bridge. Here is the latest information. The bridge itself has been on order and due in November 2013. C.C Tatham in Bracebridge is preparing the tender for the required work scope for replacement of the Bridge Abutments. Mr. Schmid indicated that the cement to be utilized would have a 12-hour curetime therby reducing the bridge closure time.

The replacement of the new bridge could be accomplished in one day. Closure of the bridge will be minimized.

For those concerned about fuel oil and propane Mr. Schmid said that he had contacted all the oil and propane suppliers and all but one I believe he said had smaller trucks to get the required fuel needs to homeowners.

Vankoughnet station on hold

Bracebridge is waiting to look for property for the Vankoughnet fire station until construction of a new Station 1 in Bracebridge has been completed.

The Vankoughnet station, which houses many resources and is often used as a backup for the fire station in Bracebridge, is located 32 kilometres out of town.  The town is seeking to relocate the station closer to Bracebridge as part of a larger plan following a 2009 report that showed how much the density, demographics and activity had changed since the fire stations were built more than 25 years earlier.  The town then decided to develop plans to upgrade its two fire stations, Station 1 on Dominion Street in Bracebridge and Station 2 in Vankoughnet.

A 400-square-foot addition was built onto the Vankoughnet fire station in 2012 to address some of the hall's shortcomings, but Fire Chief Murray Medley said the $50,000 for the project was part of a longer-term vision.

"The addition we put in wasn't fire hall specific but also to make it more resalable if we needed to resell the property," he said.

Though the town isn't actively looking for a new location, Bracebridge CAO John Sisson said they will consider options if a suitable property arises, even if it is before Station 1 is completed.

Land for a new Station 2 property was originally expected to be purchased in 2012, but due to the delays with Station 1, the purchase has been extended by several years.

from the Bracebridge Examiner

Responses requested regarding Milne Road bridge

As you are aware the Milne Road Bridge at the damn is deteriorating and in serious need of repair/replacement. Before any work can be accomplished it is required that a Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report must be prepared. Below is an email received for Pat Dibb, if anyone would like to add anything pro or con against the bridge replacement please send them along. Please respond as soon as possible Bracebridge is wanting to proceed with construction before snow!!!

----- Original Message -----

From: "Pat Dibb" <ynas@cogeco.net>

To: <bjaroscak@ncweb.com>

Sent: Saturday, September 28, 2013 3:12 PM

Subject: Milne Road Bridge

> York North Archaeological Services Inc. (in Peterborough) has been given the contract to conduct a Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report of the Milne Road Bridge as part of the EA process. The Town of Bracebridge has recently changed the limit on the bridge (to 5 ton). Because the bridge is over 40 years old a cultural heritage assessment is required. Inquiries have been made to the Town of Bracebridge and the Ontario Heritage Trust for some background information for this area. Some of the questions asked included:

> 1) Has a notion or intention to designate any properties within the study area or abutting the study area been filed by the Municipality for the property?

> 2 Is the bridge area subject to a municipal easement agreement?

> 3) is the property of, abutting or located within a designated Heritage Conservation District?

 > 4) Does the municipality have an archaeological master plan that covers the project area?

> 5) Are any structures/vistas in the project area listed on a municipal heritage register?

> 6)Is there a municipal Plaque in the subject or abutting area?

> 7)Is the property abutting a park or planned designated recreational community or community space?

> The questions above phrased somewhat differently were also sent to the Ontario Heritage Trust.

> Since most of your members are up only during the summer YNAS would appreciate hearing from anyone who has knowledge of the area, they would like to share. Do you consider the current Milne Road bridge to have any heritage value or interest?

> During our trip to the bridge done just this past week we spoke to two long time residents who expressed no doubt the concerns of many, regarding not only the safety issues (capacity, access by suppliers (gas, wood, road grader, snow removal) now that the capacity of the bridge has been reduced.

> If anyone would like to add anything pro or con against the bridge replacement please send them along. Please respond as soon as possible Bracebridge is wanting to proceed with construction before snow.

> Thank you for your time and thoughts.

> Yours truly,

> Pat & Gordon Dibb

> Senior Archaeologists

Inspection of the Milne Road bridge abutments

An up date on August 28, 2013 excavation of the Milne Road bridge abutments to determine there conditions. I stopped to see the progress and spoke with a Bracebridge Public Works Engineer.

This is preliminary, and a final report will be prepared by PW and it MAY be available at the next General Committee Meeting or council meeting. You can check the Bracebridge web site and see if the Milne Road Bridge is on either Meetings agenda.

The inspection made on the North Abutment from what I was told the concrete is deteriorating (crumbling) badly and there is a crack in the abutment. The South end was not excavated as it was determined that it would exhibit the same condition as the North.

I would suggest that you forward this email to anyone who is impacted by the deteriorating bridge

Bracebridge Town Council passes ATV bylaw

Peter Aykroyd of Bigwind lake shared this update with us.  

Dear Bigwind and Area Friends

Unfortunately Town Council passed the ATV by-law last evening by an 8 to 1 vote. The one dissenting Councillor was Scott Young who endeavoured to defer the by-law motion to allow further study of the suggestion of a specific-use permit for local residents who could demonstrate valid need and ongoing operating responsibility. His motion to consider this alternative was defeated by a 5 to 4 vote.

Despite my submissions to Council including my concerns as to financial viability ( the Town's roads and transportation expense has been 81% over budget for the last 4 audited fiscal years) ; safety ( reference to the exceptionally well researched data provided in letters from Drs. Howie Abrams and Pauline Pariser) and despite drawing attention to what seem to be possible errors and/or possible inaccuracies in the draft by-law ( such as references to the Highway Traffic Act but not the applicable Off-Road Vehicles Act ; or, the ATV by-law area map showing Bigwind lake Prov. Park in grey as an "ATV area permitted ") , and further notwithstanding two fine presentations by Dave Wharry and Dianna Armstrong of the Wood Lake Cottagers' Association, Inc. including Dave's reference to the Town contradicting its own stated green/environmentally conscious strategic plan vision, a majority of Council members were prepared to proceed with and approve this open road by-law as presently drafted.

Interestingly, the Town Clerk, Lori McDonald, when asked , advised Council that the ATV by-law would result in "negligible" additional costs for the Town. This seemed to reassure most members of Council but I'm not sure how she can say that so definitively when the Town's professional staff, including the Director of Public Works, recently reported ( Staff Report PW015-13) " Actual costs are unknown at this time and are hard to project ". At the meeting, the Town's Chief Administrative Officer, John Sisson, stated that he likewise couldn't estimate the level of possible ATV- related additional costs. The Town's new Director of Finance/Treasurer, Carol Anne MacLellan made no comment and provided no input throughout the meeting .

The by-law has an 18 -month probationary period that extends to the first quarter of 2015. By then we could have some new faces on Council after the fall 2014 municipal election.

The by-law provides that ATV operation is year round but only from sunrise to sunset. It appeared that some members of Council seem to think that the ATV by-law is introducing a 20 km ATV speed limit to our rural roads, but that speed limit thankfully already applies under provincial law.

If you are concerned about firearms in our area you will be interested to know that the seeming assurance provided in an August 9th letter by Councillor Barb McMurray that the by-law would " ...prohibit ATVs in areas where firearms are restricted or prohibited " never found its way to the approved ATV By-law.

The By-Law's Section 1.1 definition of an ATV is nebulous in my opinion since it is defined by reference to the Highway Traffic Act which in itself ( Section 191.8(5) ) only defines off-road vehicles by reference to the Off-Road Vehicles Act . That Act's definition, however, includes two categories for off-road vehicles including motorized dirt bikes. The Town ATV by-law doesn't distinguish these categories of off-road vehicles and may need clarification to specify that it intends to include only the 4-wheel ATV category.

Similarly, the new by-law ( at Section 2.2) states that ATVs must comply with operation requirements for ATVs under the Highway Traffic Act ("HTA") . From my reading, there are no specific ATV operating requirements in the HTA unless ATVs possibly fall under the HTA's general definition of "motorized vehicles". There are specific ATV operation requirements in the Off-Road Vehicles Act to which the Town's new ATV by-law makes no reference.

So in a somewhat large nutshell there it is. We gave it our best efforts. If you are not happy with any aspect of the by-law I suggest that you contact all members of Town Council and key members of Town staff to voice your opinion and report any irresponsible ATV riding in our area.

Kind regards,

Peter

Town Council meeting regarding Milne Road bridge

Milne Road Residents, I managed to get to the Bracebridge GC Meeting this morning, unfortunately I was the only one there from Wood Lake. May be I am putting too much concern on the issue, as it does not even effect me.

The meeting was lengthily and Milne Road was one of the last New Business items to be discussed. There were spirited discussions on the Bridge and much useful discussions on many issues, where will the money come from, which option yields the most longevity for the cost (years of use), type of repair, just a quick bandage or serious long term repairs. It was most council members wishes to NOT USE A BANDAGE and then revisit in 5-10 years once again. There is concern that the repairs whatever be accomplished as fast as possible, but with careful though. The suggestion to install a steel plate over the existing deck is not feasible to distribute the weight on the existing abutments. The weight of the steel sheet in the proper thickness would only increase the load capacity to 10 tom which is not sufficient. It was unanimous by council to give PW Engineer the go ahead to begin an Environmental Assessment (EA) which he believes would be required no mater which option is exercised. It looks like Options 1C and 2 will be explored in further detail, excavation will be required on both side of the bridge to determine if the existing abutments are on bed rock our just packed fill. Based on the results if its the later it looks like they would need to go to Option 2, to receive much expanded life for the new bridge. It was not determined a date for the excavation. It is very possible that additional information will be available at the August 21 Council meeting, that will be confirmed in the Meeting Agenda.

I have not gone through my extensive listing of Wood Lake email address to select Milne Road residents please forward this email to anyone who is impacted by the deteriorating bridge.

Petition to oppose ATV bylaw

We recently sent out a survey asking whether or not you would like your Board to oppose the proposed by-law to allow ATVs on municipal roadways in rural Bracebridge. The response was overwhelmingly in support of the Board opposing the proposed by-law. As a result, the Board has created an on-line petition that anyone can electronically “sign” to indicate to Bracebridge Town Council that they oppose the proposed by-law. The on-line petition can be found here:

https://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/town-of-bracebridge-defeat-proposed-by-law-to-permit-atvs-on-municipal-roadways

It is important to note that anyone can sign this petition, whether they are a cottager, permanent resident or just an occasional visitor to Bracebridge. So please feel free to forward the petition to anyone you feel would like to sign it. However, the petition needs to be signed as quickly as possible since the Town of Bracebridge has requested that all petitions on this subject be presented by August 13th in preparation for the Council meeting on August 21st.

Dianna Armstrong and Dave Wharry will be attending the Council meeting on August 21st and speaking in opposition to the proposed by-law.

Milne Road Bridge Load Capacity Rating

Aug 1, 2013 letter from Bracebridge Director of Public Works