Council received the findings concerning the unique partnership between the Town and Environment Canada’s National Water Research Institute. Through Environment Canada’s Technical Report “Assessment of Operation of the Town of Richmond Hill’s Snow Storage Facility: Interim Report” it was documented that the Town’s snow management facility has been successful in reducing contaminants being released into the environment. The Town is the first municipality in Canada to undertake such a partnership to evaluate the effectiveness of management techniques in reducing pollution arising from snow disposal site runoff. The Town’s snow management facility represents state-of–the-art environmental protection and demonstrates opportunities for road salt management. The facility has been nationally recognized as a leading innovative technology and has been awarded the Ontario Public Works Association 2007 Technical Innovation Award and was also featured on the Discovery’s Channel’s Daily Planet. A subsequent report will soon be completed to highlight the results from the 2007/2008 winter season. The report will be distributed to the National Water and Wastewater Benchmarking partners and other municipalities across Canada, through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, for information purposes. For more information, contact John Nemeth, Manager of Water Resources, at (905) 771-5495 (From Committee of the Whole Meeting held on Monday, November 2, 2009; Staff Report SREPW.09.093, Agenda Item No. 10).

Council approved the renaming of Oak Ridges Lions Club Park (formerly known as Humberlands Park on Red Cardinal Trail), to commemorate the Oak Ridges Lions Club’s 60^th Anniversary next year. Council also approved these proposed names for the following parks: Larchmere Parkette (West of Bayview Avenue and Old Colony Road), to be named after one of the original land owners, William Warren Baldwin’s property, Larchmere; Miles Hill Parkette (Yonge Street and Harding Boulevard), to be named after Abner Miles, known as the father of Richmond Hill; Red Maple Parkette (Red Maple Road and Colston Court), to be consistent with the name of the road (Red Maple Road) where the parkette is located; Tadpole Parkette (East of Bayview Avenue and Balliol Avenue), recognizing the natural heritage of the site and that the park is designed based on the shape of a frog; and Saigeon Trail (located in the Rouge River valley lands west of Yonge Street and north of Gamble Road, east of Rollinghill Road and south of Tower Hill Road), to be named after Michel Saigeon, a significant property owner in the original French settlement of early Richmond Hill. Following the required 30-day public notification period, staff will report back to Council regarding a final recommendation on the proposed names. For more information, contact Daniel Harrietha, Parks Planning Technician at (905) 771-2474 (From Committee of the Whole Meeting held on Monday, November 2, 2009; Staff Report SRPRC.09.59, Agenda Item No. 15).

Council approved the continuation of the cooperative winter maintenance service between the Town and the Region of York. Since 1996, the Town and the Region of York have annually and successfully shared winter maintenance activities to reap the benefits of maximizing resources. In 2008, the Town received 290 cm of snow fall, more than the usual average of 120 cm. Despite the heavy accumulation, the Town’s winter maintenance team sanded 55,000 km of roads, ploughed 54,000 km of roads, 49,000 km of sidewalks and 15,000 seniors’ driveways. In addition, every winter the Town offers a snow windrow removal service for people who are 65 years of age and older, as well as those who are physically challenged. Application forms are available on the Town’s Website or by calling (905) 884-8013. Even though winter still seems far away, the Town is busy getting ready for the season ahead. For more information, contact John Armstrong, Director of Maintenance & Operations at (905) 780-2966 (From Committee of the Whole Meeting held on Monday, November 2, 2009; Staff Reports SREPW.09.092 and SREPW.09.100; Agenda Items No. 9 and 13).

Council announced that the Town’s Richmond Green Park is expected to be used as a practice site for baseball teams for Pan Am Games 2015. Toronto was selected as the successful candidate to host the 2015 Pan Am Games, a major international multi-sport event held every four years for athletes from all nations of the 42 countries of the Americas. The Town is one of the municipalities in the GTA who will be involved in the Games that will host more than 5,000 athletes over two weeks. Participating in the Games will give all participating municipalities exposure to people from all over the world and bring positive economic returns. The Games feature all Summer Olympic sports, some non-Olympic events and serve as an Olympic-qualifier for several sports. For more information about Toronto Pan Am Games visit www.toronto2015.org. For more information about Richmond Hill’s involvement, please contact Darlene Joslin, Director of Recreation & Culture at (905) 771-2423 (from Council Meeting held on Monday, November 9, 2009; New Business).

The next Committee of the Whole Meeting is scheduled for Monday, November 16, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. and the next Council meeting is Monday, November 23, 2009 at 7:30 p.m., both in Council Chambers.