Hub Staff

Town staff are looking at the next phase of the Fairy Lake restoration project after approximately 500 Emerald Ash Borer infested trees were removed this past March. In a report to Saugeen Shores Council April 10, Director of Community Services Jayne Jagelewski updated councillors on what has taken place and how staff are moving forward.

The report for occurrences in February and March indicated that “unseasonably warm winter weather made it challenging for the crews to work and did result in soil disturbance due to the complete thaw. The soil disturbance will be rehabilitated as part of tree planting and trail reconstruction.” The report also stated that Saugeen District Secondary School students had begun building a floating dock lookout that will be installed at Fairy Lake.

The plans for April will see 15 to 20 large trees planted as well as 200 saplings and seedings in cooperation with local youth groups. A tender for trail reconstruction, which will the Town of Saugeen Shores trail development guidelines, will be released.

By May, trail reconstruction, including the replacement of two bridges and drainage improvements along the southeast side of the Lake, will be scheduled. As well in May, the floating dock will be installed, the construction of a drystone stairway at the end of Lansdowne Street will be built by the Saugeen Drystone Crew with funding from the Great Lakes Guardian Fund.

Councillor Dave Myette had some concerns regarding the clean up of the lake after a recent visit. The councillor said that there had been tree debris not removed and as a result Rainbow Trout were having a hard time moving at the north end of the lake. Jagelwski said the cleanup was not yet complete but that staff were “cognizant of what can be left and what can’t be left.” Jagelewski made mention of Fairy Lake support during the upcoming Spring Cleaning Week and Fawcett Tree Removal Ltd. was on-sight cleaning up logs April 11.

Vice Deputy Mayor Diane Huber noticed that the report stated that future public notification would be placed online and through social media and requested that it be done through public meetings which had been the original plan. “We should be very seriously imagining what we’re about to do to a space that has been a gem and has been around in Southampton for a long time,” said Huber.

She then questioned how the Town can “deviate from the development guidelines” which suggest trails be created 3 metres in width and said that on April 9 she walked around Fairy Lake with a 3 metre long 2x4 and suggested that a trail of that width would not work at Fairy Lake because it would be hard on the environment. “It makes you think of what’s going to be left in there in terms of actual wildlife habitat,” said Huber.

Jagelewski responded to Huber by saying that the guidelines are just that - guidelines - and said “we all know that 3 metres is not going to be applicable at Fairy Lake.”

The Vice Deputy Mayor brought up additional information and said that per the Canada 150 grant and past reports in 2002 and 2008, it did not say that Fairy Lake was used as a bike path but rather was a place for people to have a connection with nature. She added that the Recreation Committee had not yet had a chance to discuss the motion concerning the use of bicycles on the trails.

Councillor Mike Myatt said that for as long as he remembers people have been riding bicycles around Fairy Lake. “I think we’re making a huge mistake by removing cyclists from Fairy Lake and I’ll say it again when it comes back to Council. Cyclists have been using Fairy Lake for decades and removing cyclists from a park is a step backwards.” He then went onto say there are ways to promote cycling and pedestrian use of the same trail.

Mayor Mike Smith reminded councillors that the issue of the use of bicycles around Fairy Lake was not part of in the report brought to Council.