What we've done so far.
*Image credit Noel Harding, 2014.
ESTABLISHMENT OF OUR GOVERNING BODIES
Alton Millpond Rehabilitation Committee
The Alton Millpond Rehabilitation committee was established in 2009 to develop a plan to restore the Alton Millpond in a way that improves the ecologicial health of Shaw's Creek.
This original committee consisted of representatives from MNR, CVC, Alton Village Association, Alton Grange Association, Ontario Streams, Trout Unlimited, Town of Caledon, Region of Peel, Halton-Peel Stewardship Council, Alton Mill, as well as local citizens. Through an extensive consultation process, the committee developed the project's goals and objectives and oversaw the completion of the project’s Master Plan, which was presented at a public meeting in the fall of 2015. With its primary task completed, the Alton Millpond Rehabilitation Committee was disbanded and a new governing body, the Alton Millpond Association, was formed to shepherd the project through its next stages.
Alton Millpond Association
In 2016 the Alton Millpond Association was incorporated as an independent non-profit organization governed by a volunteer board. Its mandate is two-fold:
1. to promote the restoration and maintenance of the Alton Millpond as a publicly accessible recreational site and in a manner that restores and protects, and promotes the appreciation of, the natural environment of Shaw's Creek and the Credit River; and
2. to promote other complementary purposes such as public art and green energy so long as they are consistent with the above.
FUNDRAISING TO DATE
Fundraising for the project has involved a combination of private local fundraising and public grants:
Private fundraising to date:
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From inception in 2008 to March 2018, various Alton Mill public events and community fundraisers have raised $100,000 to move the project forward thanks to the efforts of many individuals and corporate sponsors, and in particular, all those involved in the annual Alton Millpond Hockey Classic.
Public grants received to date:
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$9,000 in small grants from several government agencies
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$47,400 matching grant from Environment Canada’s Habitat Stewardship Program (Prevention Stream)
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In the spring of 2017 the Ontario Trillium Foundation announced approval of a $495,000 grant to be disbursed over the next 2 ½ years to complete the detailed design and permitting of the project including an extensive public consultation process.
A summary of the AMRC's income and expenses from inception through the 2016 fiscal year, and the AMA's subsequent financial statements can be found under the “Project Documents” tab of this website.
WORK COMPLETED TO DATE
A significant amount of planning and technical work has been completed so far, including sediment testing, geotechnical investigation, hydraulic, biological and other background data collection, development of fundamental design criteria, evaluation of alternative solutions, and identification of a preferred approach to the environmental design.
As mentioned, the Habitat Stewardship Program (HSP) funding enabled us to engage a full team of specialized consultants to prepare the detailed master plan report that was presented to the public in fall 2015. Copies of the full report and a short summary are available on the “Project Documents” page. Copies of the technical appendices are available upon request.
WHERE WE ARE NOW
The next step is to turn the master plan’s conceptual design into detailed construction drawings approved by the authorities so that the project will be “shovel ready” for construction pending funding.
The approvals and permitting process for the project is rigorous and will require approval from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) under the Lakes and Rivers Improvement Act (LRIA) and permits from the Credit Valley Conservation Authority (CVC) whose mandate includes both flood management and habitat protection mitigation measures for the construction itself.
Pre-consultations were carried out with the CVC and MNRF, the formal LRIA application for the project has been submitted and the consulting team received feedback from the agencies on the process required to meet their requirements. Scopes of work and fixed price contracts were entered into with the consultants and the background data collection and hydraulic modelling needed to proceed with detailed design was completed in the fall of 2018. Three draft reports were prepared: geotechnical, a flood flow study and a hydraulic study. These technical reports established certain design parameters that required tweaks to be made to the master plan.
The AMA committed to carry out an extensive public engagement process, akin to that which would be required in an EA for a government-sponsored project, in order to ensure maximum transparency and community involvement. A second public meeting was held on October 24, 2018 to outline the findings of the reports and the resulting design implications, and to obtain public input. Click for a copy of the presentation made at the meeting.
In February 2019, the three draft reports, along with preliminary engineering plans and a construction sequencing plan were submitted for review by the MNRF. Various comments and questions were received, further information submitted, meetings held and further design details were developed in a back and forth process with the Ministry. A final submission was made to both MNRF and CVC in May 2020.
The permit from the MNRF under the Lakes and Rivers Improvement Act was received on November 26th, 2020. Certain implementation details for the CVC permits are still under review. Once everything has been approved, the final drawings will be published here.
In the meatime, the AMA is beginning to prepare for the next stage of the project, which is fundraising to actually build it.
*Photo credit Maurice Nelisher
*Photo Credit Jeremy Grant
