MINUTES ONTARIO ROAD SALT MANAGEMENT GROUP March 24, 2015 Peel Region (Peel Region HQ, Brampton) In Attendance: Warren Nicholishen, Richmond Hill Chair Emil Marion, Region of Waterloo- Co Chair David Watson, City of Brantford Craig Morton, City of Barrie Paul Johnson, Wellington County Darnell Bernardo, Norfolk County Ken Lauppe, City of Brampton Randy Halverson, City of Greater Sudbury Heather Crewe, OGRA Eleanor Gillon, Region of Peel John Parsons, City of London Fahad Shuja, OGRA Janet Moate, Niagara Region Dave Hagner, Region of Durham Wayne Watson, City of Barrie Joseph Petrungaro, Region of York Lars Olsson, Greater Toronto Airport Authority Chris Curd, GTAA Dave Morris, City of Misssissauga Bob Paul, City of Hamilton Bruno DiMichele, City of Mississauga Glenn Gibbons, Grey County Absent Glynys Jones, GTAA Romuldo, City of Brampton Dave Lukezich, Region of Waterloo Heather Coleman, City of Barrie Jeff Baker, MTO Sam Mattina, City of Brantford Nicole Ruscio, Region of Niagara Dave Vander Wal, City of Ottawa Dave MacLeod, Region of Niagara Peter Pilateris, York Region Scott Boughner, Oxford County Ralph Scholz, Niagara Region Bill Cridland, Norfolk County Dominic Guthrie, City of Toronto Mark Crawford, Region of Peel Aaron Todd, Ministry of Environment David Laverdiere, Environment Canada Heather McClintock, MTO Alysha Robbins, Niagara Region John McIntosh, Halton Region Louis Zidar, City of Brampton Jim Dixon, City of Barrie Heather Colterman, Region of Halton Guests: Item Discussion Action 1. Review of Previous Minutes of October 15, 2014 (Durham Region) The previous minutes were reviewed and accepted/adopted. 2. Technical Subcommittee Update (ORSMG members only) - Fahad went over an update in regards to the work of the committee - Due to his limited time availability, he will remain on the committee however Louis Zidar is taking over as Chair. 2. Presentation Meteo Group, Kevin Stenson, Maarten Hoort Kevin gave an update from his last presentation from June 2014 in Norfolk County DOCS 11879041, ORSMG Minutes March 24/15, Peel Region
Company has been expanding into North America since 2010. They are a full service company and global weather service in 15 countries. Specialize in developing site specific forecasts from weather to road weather. This is done using thermal mapping. Take all data into consideration including sub base, surface, bridges, ets and sun Benefits are less people, right treatment at right time, safety, cost reduction, better for environment Can put forecast date on handheld or phone for easy access In field sensors can also provide chemical levels on asphalt which help in regards to forecasting Building the company for the North American market 3. Presentation Carghil Deicing Technology, Chris Shovlin and Dave Marshal Presenters introduced themselves and the company. Carghill is more than just a bulk road salt supplier. They also supply Clearlane winter liquid and can provide treated salt directly from the mine. Pretreated salt is growing in popularity. Material comes from the US. Past customers are Grey County, City of Niagara Falls, City of Owen Sound, U of W, Haldimand County, and Wellington County has been using the treated salt on a trial basis. Material is shipped in and stored in several strategic locations to supply Ontario customers Momentum of Clearlane is growing 4 OGRA Updates Fahad The Winter Web App popularity is still growing with approximately 150 organizations using it to date. Version 2.0 is being developed. Additional features including importing of maps, AVL tool, pictures, form writing are being looked at being developed Also looking at addition of MMS features and other features that will integrate into the program for the benefit of municipalities. DOCS 11879041, ORSMG Minutes March 24/15, Peel Region
Snow School, Heather Crewe Paul went over the OGRA report in regards to the 2014 Snow School - Updated MMS Model - Updated GPS/AVL Model - Updated Winter Ops App module - Added Winter Maintenance of Gravel Roads Section - Mechanics school remains one of a kind and has been very successful. It was extensively updated in 2013 This year it takes place Sept 27-30. Mechanics School is Sept. 28 and Sept 29 will be added if required Other Items OGRA is looking at putting a workshop together this fall. It will be called Winter Operations Workshop. Training committee meeting is convening after lunch to discuss this and other items MMS review is coming for the second time. One meeting has been held by the committee. It is likely they will be reviewing the MMS for sidewalks. Stedman v Lambton is not being challenged due to the limited success anticipated. It is hoped that a research project will be started to see if there are any ways to find or use a different product in salt vulnerable areas 5. ORSMG Committee New Business Dave Morris asked what others are doing in regards to sidewalk inspection requirements Paul asked if anyone has a SOP regarding plowing in windy conditions. One county is being sued claiming plowing in windy conditions caused the collision Should the material committee review gradation for highway salts? Maybe we should look at developing a finer grade of salt. General agreement to restart material committee. Dave Morris and Bruno DiMichele will chair the committee Question was asked if anyone has experience in having to change the salt management plan because of storm water limit changes in particular in regards to salt levels in storm water OGRA is working on ways to manage Phragmites. This is a major invasive species that has the ability to take over many areas of our environment. Hopefully a document will follow by June 6. Next Meeting City of Brantford Visitor and Tourism Centre June 11 / 2015 @ City of Brantford DOCS 11879041, ORSMG Minutes March 24/15, Peel Region
Upcoming Dates: Sept 28-30, 2015 Snow School, Alliston Oct. 21/15 OGRA Managing Winter Operations Workshop Week of October 26, 2015 October ORSMG Meeting, Brampton March 2016 Spring 2016 ORSMG Meeting, Oxford County June 2016 Summer 2016 ORSMG Meeting, City of Mississauga October 2016 Fall ORSMG Meeting, Location TBD DOCS 11879041, ORSMG Minutes March 24/15, Peel Region
MINUTES ONTARIO ROAD SALT MANAGEMENT GROUP June 11, 2015 City of Brantford (Northridge Municipal Golf Course, Brantford) In Attendance: Warren Nicholishen, Richmond Hill Chair Emil Marion, Region of Waterloo- Co Chair David Watson, City of Brantford Jeff Baker, MTO Paul Johnson, Wellington County Darnell Bernardo, Norfolk County Ken Lauppe, City of Brampton Randy Halverson, City of Greater Sudbury Heather Crewe, OGRA Scott Boughner, Oxford County Kevin Monotte, City of Ottawa Fahad Shuja, OGRA Janet Moate, Niagara Region Dave Hagner, Region of Durham Desmond Grant, MTO Sam Mattina, City of Brantford Glenn Gibbons, Grey County Chris Curd, GTAA Dave Morris, City of Misssissauga Bruno DiMichele, City of Mississauga Guests: Scott Stoner, York Region Matt Ropp, Region of Waterloo Jason Redman, Region of Waterloo Carlos Gomes, City of Brampton Andrew Masiak, City of Brampton Curt Anderson, Niagara Region Absent Glynys Jones, GTAA Heather Colterman, Region of Halton Dave Lukezich, Region of Waterloo Heather Coleman, City of Barrie Lars Olsson, Greater Toronto Airport Authority Joseph Petrungaro, Region of York Nicole Ruscio, Region of Niagara Dave Vander Wal, City of Ottawa Wayne Watson, City of Barrie Peter Pilateris, York Region Bob Paul, City of Hamilton Ralph Scholz, Niagara Region Bill Cridland, Norfolk County Dominic Guthrie, City of Toronto Mark Crawford, Region of Peel Aaron Todd, Ministry of Environment David Laverdiere, Environment Canada Heather McClintock, MTO Alysha Robbins, Niagara Region John McIntosh, Halton Region Louis Zidar, City of Brampton Jim Dixon, City of Barrie John Parsons, City of London Eleanor Gillon, Region of Peel Craig Morton, City of Barrie Item Discussion Action 1. Review of Previous Minutes of March 24/15 (Peel Region) The previous minutes were reviewed and accepted/adopted. 2. Technical Subcommittee Update (ORSMG members only) - In Louis Zidas s absence, Fahad went over an update in regards to the work of the committee DOCS 1912078, ORSMG Minutes June 11/15, City of Brantford
- Work continues of AVL Technology - MTO is also now involved in work of committee 2. Presentation Robert Boggs, AMEC Foster Wheeler Robert gave an overview Amec Foster Wheeler and evolution of RWIS from full site locations to current non evasive and even mobile systems. Company is a global engineering company having about 50 in the meteorological division including Ottawa, Halifax and St John. Provides full forecasting services for all areas and expanding into Ontario Original MTO site are reaching their end of life so they are looking at alternative options for future Note that the old CDMA modems will be obsolete this fall and not useable AMEC Foster Wheeler working closely to develop new MDSS (Maintenance Decision Support System). This system provides what, where and how much treatment to be done based on new RWIS technology and weather forecasting. Shows when to plow and when to apply chemicals and shows the expected improvement. Takes your specific rules of practice to come up with recommended actions. Amec Foster Wheeler sees MDSS as the next major step in winter maintenance. 3. Presentation Dave Huffman, Innovative Surface Solutions Presenters introduced themselves and the company. Company supplies Magnesium Chloride based products for both winter and summer maintenance as well as agricultural needs. Company strives to provide good customer service, not just the products Compared to other products, mag chloride doesn t lose its effectiveness and has better longevity. It is environmentally less toxic than salt brine, lower in metals, phosphorous, and BOD. Mag doesn t clog pumps or nozzles, has no smell or staining, doesn t leave a chalky residue and provides reduced corrosion compared to other products Mag passes PNS specs and can be used in sensitive watershed locations Use of this product can reduce the amount of salt due to the lower rates required AgMag is the first organic mag chloride based fertilizer in North America Innovative markets various strengths of product to be used in winter applications all based around the title Pro Melt with the strongest having a eutectic temperature of -65 C Innovative currently supplies mag to Sifto to produce manufactured pretreated salt DOCS 1912078, ORSMG Minutes June 11/15, City of Brantford
distributed as Thawrox Many municipalities are using the pretreated salt with use growing 4 OGRA Updates Heather Crewe Snow School Is being updated in several areas due to comments from attendees, Dates September 28 to 30 th in Alliston Mechanics School Dates available Sept 28 and 29 also in Alliston Managing Winter Operations Workshop Oct. 22 at Courtyard Marriott, Brampton - 1 day format - Various subject matter on Winter Operations - Various formats from presentations panel discussions Ken Lauppe OGRA is involved with the MMS revision task force. Members have met twice already with another meeting scheduled for June. Last amendment was 2 years ago. Hopefully working document done by end of 2015 for possible changes in 2016. Some items up for discussion include: - Removing reference to minimum - Review of road classes to meet function of roadway - Lane widths - Addition of other deicing chemicals - Road cracks (bicycle standards?) - Expanding s/w inspections, definitions of sidewalks - S/W snow accumulating limits - Boulevard definition, curbs, etc Other Items 5. ORSMG Committee New Business Various committees are having meetings right after this meeting End of Warrens term is nearing. Elections will be held at next meeting in October. Emil will move to Chair position with new secretary required. In total is a 4 year commitment (2 as secretary and 2 as chair). Please consider volunteering to run for the election. Please see Emil or Warren if any questions. 6. Next Meeting October 28 / 2015 @ City of Brampton Upcoming Dates: Sept 28-30, 2015 Snow School, Alliston DOCS 1912078, ORSMG Minutes June 11/15, City of Brantford
Oct. 22/15 OGRA Managing Winter Operations Workshop March 2016 Spring 2016 ORSMG Meeting, Oxford County June 2016 Summer 2016 ORSMG Meeting, City of Mississauga October 2016 Fall ORSMG Meeting, Location TBD DOCS 1912078, ORSMG Minutes June 11/15, City of Brantford
MINUTES ONTARIO ROAD SALT MANAGEMENT GROUP October 28, 2015 City of Brampton (Professors Lake, Brampton) In Attendance: Warren Nicholishen, Kawartha Lakes Chair Emil Marion, Region of Waterloo- Co Chair Dave Lukezich, Region of Waterloo Craig Morton, City of Barrie Jim Dixon, City of Barrie John Parsons, City of London Paul Johnson, Wellington County Darnell Bernardo, Norfolk County Ken Lauppe, City of Brampton Randy Halverson, City of Greater Sudbury Heather Crewe, OGRA Scott Boughner, Oxford County Joseph Petrungaro, Region of York Fahad Shuja, OGRA Heather Colterman, Region of Halton Mark Crawford, Region of Peel Glynys Jones, GTAA Dave Hagner, Region of Durham Desmond Grant, MTO Sam Mattina, City of Brantford Glenn Gibbons, Grey County Dave Morris, City of Misssissauga Curt Anderson, Niagara Region Derek McGaughey, Niagara Region Absent Eleanor Gillon, Region of Peel Louis Zidar, City of Brampton Janet Moate, Niagara Region Chris Curd, GTAA Heather McClintock, MTO Heather Coleman, City of Barrie Lars Olsson, Greater Toronto Airport Authority John McIntosh, Halton Region Nicole Ruscio, Region of Niagara Dave Vander Wal, City of Ottawa Wayne Watson, City of Barrie Peter Pilateris, York Region Bob Paul, City of Hamilton Ralph Scholz, Niagara Region Alysha Robbins, Niagara Region David Laverdiere, Environment Canada Bill Cridland, Norfolk County Dominic Guthrie, City of Toronto Aaron Todd, Ministry of Environment Bruno DiMichele, City of Mississauga Guests: Carlos Gomes, City of Brampton Michael Parks, City of Brampton Richard Furoco, City of Brampton Matt Ropp, Region of Waterloo Andrew Masiak, City of Brampton Joe Bianchi, City of Brampton Item Discussion Action 1. Host Welcome and Review of Brampton s Winter Ops - Ken provided a welcome and went over Brampton s winter ops plans - Brampton is Canada s 9 th largest city with a current population of 600,000 expected to grow to 900,000 by 2041 with 209 distinct ethnic backgrounds - Currently 3,600+ lane kms of roads, 800+ sidewalk kms, 160+crosswalks, 100+ courts, 2,200+ transit stops and an annual average infrastructure DOCS 2052197, ORSMG Minutes Oct. 28/15, City of Brampton
growth of 2.5% - There are over 255 pieces of equipment - Approximately 90% of overall route assignments are outsourced with current contract ending at the end of the 2016/2017 winter season - Currently utilize 2 works yards, Sandalwood and Williams Yards with 2 additional yards to be developed over next 10 years - Use about 1 million litres of salt brine, 25,000 T of salt and 1,000 T of sand - Overall budget of $13 million with $2.5 in-house, $8 contract and $2.5 material - Forecasts 4 times a day by AMEC thru Peel Region - New initiatives include a 7 year contract starting in 2017 expanding to park pathways and city parking lots - Multi task equipment including roll off vehicles, water/brine truck with telescoping plow, and slide in brine tanks 2. Review of Previous Minutes of June 11/15 (City of Brantford) The previous minutes were reviewed and accepted/adopted. 3. Technical Subcommittee Update (ORSMG members only) - In Louis Zidar s absence, Fahad went over an update in regards to the work of the committee - Work continues on AVL Technology 2. Presentation Germain Proulx, ACE - ACE is a manufacturer of spreader controllers and GPS Systems - Germain went over their vehicle tracking and maintenance management system - INFOBITE Wireless GPS is a fully automated data collection system - It works on any vehicle such as road vehicles or sidewalk machines - Uses Google Maps with new Geographical Search - Monitors spreaders, plows and road/air temperatures - OSCAR Road Patrol can be used on tablets and smart phones - Is a simple and intuitive interface that works on any vehicle or even on foot - It is MMS compliant with weather observations, road conditions, deficiencies and weather forecasts - Data is stored at customer premises using infobite database - Infobite and Oscar road patrol can be integrated 3. Presentation Deborah Tracagna, Manager Risk and Insurance, City of Brampton - Deborah made a presentation on Risk Management being the process of making and carrying out decisions that will minimize the adverse effects of accidental loss upon and individual or organization - We want to be proactive and deal with the risks before something happens by identifying potential risk exposures, analyzing the frequency and severity of the risks, examining and developing ways to control the exposure, selecting and implementing the right risk control technique and monitoring the results to ensure that is effective DOCS 2052197, ORSMG Minutes Oct. 28/15, City of Brampton
- Municipalities owe a duty of care to: operate our facilities and programs with the safety of the user in mind, keep our facilities, sidewalks, roadways, parks and pathways in safe repair with regular maintenance, ensure our staff are adequately trained, carry out regular inspections for possible hazards and remove those hazards and / or warn of their presence - Due diligence is a duty of care we owe to others and their property. Municipal employees have a duty not to create or expose others to dangerous situations as a result of our action or inaction which could result in injury or property damage - Examples of due diligence; responding to a weather event as quickly as possible, inspecting areas to ensure they are safe for others, ensuring staff and contractors are adequately trained and certified and inspecting equipment before it is dispatched - What is negligence?...failure to meet this duty of care with due diligence may result in a municipality being held negligent should anyone be injured or suffer property damage. Negligence is a failure to do what a reasonable person would do or doing something that a reasonable person would not do under the given circumstances - What is Liability?...the risk that arises out of our duties or obligations to other people. If we negligently cause injury to others or cause damage to their property we can be held responsible (liable) - Discussion on risk management considerations - Todays challenges include doing more with less, litigation frequency, municipal deep pockets, joint and several liability, weather changes, environmental concerns, balance between safety and environmental issues, higher customer service expectations - Importance of documentation!!: if it isn t written, it didn t happen or doesn t exist, provides consistent and uniform approach, standardized policies and procedures establish standards and/or guidelines 4 OGRA Updates Heather Crewe Snow School - Went well with 87 students - No failures with 89% average, lowest @66% and highest at 99% Mechanics School - Mechanics school had 22 students with 86.6% average and no failures Managing Winter Operations Workshop, Expect the Unexpected - 127 attendees, 17 exhibits in a 1 day format @ at Courtyard Marriott, Brampton - Keynote speaker Scott McDonald, Operations Supervisor from Charlottetown, PEI went though experiences from this past winter - Great presentations where all presenters were well received DOCS 2052197, ORSMG Minutes Oct. 28/15, City of Brampton
OGRA - Event calendar is out on website - Training Committee is meeting after this meeting to go over recent events and start planning for future and discuss recent events 5. ORSMG Committee New Business Warren - Need topics brought up for discussion, please see Emil for future topics - Ken will be providing an update to the MMS at next meeting in March - Reminder that future hosts will not be expected to provide a short presentation on winter maintenance in their municipality Heather C - Possible future topic for ORSMG to explore is the salinity/chloride levels in the spring run off - Conservation authorities starting to track this data so maybe ORSMG should have discussions with the conservation authorities to update them on what the ORSMG is doing. Smart about Salt has been asked to participate in discussions between conservation authorities and municipalities Craig M - Simcoe Conservation Authority seems to lobbying to have additional restrictions put in place for salt usage around Lake Simcoe - Suggesting we be more proactive in working with them in this regard - Suggesting to convene a meeting with conservation authorities to discuss salt usage Paul J - Reminding members to not just attend regular meetings but to stay active while hosting meetings and becoming involved in the various sub committees - Host members are encouraged to invite guests from their respective municipalities to attend the meeting in their municipalities - ORSMG is a very important group so we need to stay current and active. Membership numbers are restricted in order to maintain a workable membership list where members can stay involved. There are many municipalities eager to join so if not able to stay active, current members are asked to give up membership so other municipalities can join Dave M - Materials Subcommittee will be meeting after this meeting - Dave will provide an update on their activities at the next meeting in Oxford in March 6. Elections - Warren has reached the end of his 4 year commitment - Emil Marion moves into position of Chair for the next 2 year term - No nominations were received prior to the meeting for Secretary DOCS 2052197, ORSMG Minutes Oct. 28/15, City of Brampton
- Nominations were then called for the position of Secretary for the next 2 year term - Paul J nominated Darnell Bernardo, with Ken Lauppe seconding the nomination - Darnell accepted the nomination - No other nominations were received so Darnell will now be the Secretary of the ORSMG for the next 2 years before moving into the Chairperson position for the following 2 years Warren would like to than everybody for their help and guidance in the last 4 years and looks forward to his continuing participation 6. Next Meeting March 24, 2016 @ Oxford County Admin Building, 21 Reeve St, Woodstock, Rm#129 Upcoming Dates: February 2016 OGRA Conference May 2016 OGRA Road School May 22-25 APWA Snow Conference June 2016 Summer 2016 ORSMG Meeting, City of Mississauga October 2016 Fall ORSMG Meeting, GTAA March 2017 ORSMG Meeting Location TBD June 2017 - ORSMG Meeting Location TBD October 2017 - ORSMG Meeting TBD DOCS 2052197, ORSMG Minutes Oct. 28/15, City of Brampton