Chair person: Gloria Yeung

Those attending: Joyce Cummings, Loretta Dunn, Brenda Kempel, Lisa Nadon, Jane Prime, Ann Roberts, Pete Scheuring.

1. Guidebook Distribution: Eleanor was= not available to report.

2. WTG Membership Report: Brenda reported 65 members for 2006 (34 lifetime, 31= yearly). Revenue thus far is $940. Brenda reminded the group that the membership renewal packages will be sent out in December and the hike sched= ule and annual report would be needed for the mail-out. The group reviewed the membership discount list and questioned if it was current. Lisa and Loretta offered to call t= he businesses to inquire about their interest in continuing with discounts in 2007. Gloria will revise the volunteer log as well. Lorett= a offered to review and comment on the letter which goes with the membership renewal package.

3. Website: Lisa suggested that a link be added to the website to allow people to send comments, such as trail deficiencies/concerns. Also suggested that contact names = be listed for each trail. Lisa suggested that an addendum to the guidebook be posted on the website until = the next edition is available.

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4. May, June, September hike reports: Loretta, Mark and John attended the hike in June in Breslau. Lucien led the September hike at Floradale. No one came for the picnic but 4 came to hike.

5. School Hike Day: The group is interested in doing the hike with St. Jacobs school again. Nancy indicated that the teachers = are also interested. Ann to confi= rm a date with Nancy. Mondays or F= ridays are preferred. Pete noted tha= t the Optimist club would once again supply the ribbons. Pete asked that the logo be includ= ed on the ribbons this year. Suggestion made to change the colour of the ribbon e= ach year. The group will supply a= list of features along the trail to the teachers.

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6. April: Healthy Communities Month Update:

Last Apr= il was our first Healthy Communities month in Woolwich. Recently Council proclaimed April = as HC month in perpetuity. The Coordinating Committee is starting to plan for 2007 and will be preparing a calendar of events in November. Members are asked to think about possible events for next April.

7. Mill Race Trail walking circuit map= : Gloria wondered if we want the info in the kiosk or have a map with distanc= es on the reverse side as a hand-out. Could we possibly add this to the membership package or drop off to local B & Bs and the visitor centres?&= nbsp; Gloria will work on the map and report at a future meeting.

8. Grand Valley Trail Updates: by Joyce Cummings

I.Gener= al:

A. The GVT= A End to End Sept. 30-Oct. 1 and Oct. 14-15 has been cancelled due to low registration.

B. The Ren= ewal Project coordinator, Chris Hart, has resigned. The Renewal Project is funde= d by the Trillium Foundation.

C. We have received a grant from Duke Energy (owners of Union Gas) to be spent on anot= her weed chopper and 50 8 foot tee bars. The grant includes some volunteer work by Union Gas employees.<= /o:p>

D. Most of= our new signs were erected this spring.

E. Fall re= ports are due by Sept. 30^th, or soon thereafter. See below.

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II. Woolwich Trail Section:

A. General= : Thanks to Ann Roberts and MNR inte= rns who cleared a fair amount of the trailway in August. I have walked some of = the sections and passed on requests for items to be constructed to Nick Kuret, = head of our construction crew. He usually does these projects on Wednesdays, if anyone would like to help out= .

B. Section= from Highway 86 to Middlebrook Road.: Clint Rohr and his brother weed whacked th= is in early summer and MNR interns in August. The leaning tree just south of t= he garbage dump, near Middlebrook Road, was removed September 14 by Nick and crew. Also on Sept. 14, just = down the slope from Highway 86, we relocated a tee bar with blaze boards closer = to the river for better visibility. This section should be walked and reported= on, or maybe just reported on by Ann who has walked it recently.

C. Middle section: Middlebrook Road, that goes through the cedar bush. This section should be walked and reported on. I am going to su= ggest to Nick that a box culvert be built where there is a ditch by the edge of t= he field, just before the trail goes down the slope into the bush at the north= ern part of this section. This spring I rerouted the trail stlightly to descend= the slope at a bit of an angle, making for a gentler descent.=

D. Northern section: approximately 73.3 km to the Tower. I have walked this section a few t= imes this summer, once to check it out, once with another volunteer when we clea= red and reblazed and once with Rob Carlton, another trail director (Brant Count= y) and Isobel Ruby, a Woolwich Trails Group member, to check on what bridges a= nd stiles needed to be built. We= also met with the landowner and tenant for this section, Mervin Brubacher, who o= wns the sugar bush section, and Henk Wichers, who rents the northern part from = the GRCA. We got permission to construct bridges and put in stiles. The stiles = were needed in 3 places because of electric fences. The stiles were put in on August 14^th. We also offered to clear and post a mandatory seasonal reroute as a blue trail around the sugar bush area. W= e have done this before, around a sugar bush west of Cambridge.<= /p>

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Isobel = has been in charge of various sections of the Grand Valley Trail, most recently, the section from Bridge Street to Ebycrest Road. She has been getting a bit bored w= ith her section and wanted more of a challenge. So..I asked her to take charge = of this northern part of the Woolwich Trails Group section and she has agreed.= It sometimes works out better if there are one or two people who feel that they have a particular responsibility for a certain section. She will probably be getting in touch with some of you to come out and help. There is still quit= e a bit of work to be done in the sugar bush section, including a possible rerouting around a dump, and then the clearing and blazing of the seasonal reroute around the edge of the field. Plus a box culvert is needed where th= ere is now a decaying boardwalk, and two bridges are needed, one on the GRCA property in the middle of a field, and one in the sugar bush. We have permission to construct both of these bridges. Isobel thinks that at the so= uth end of the trail, it should follow the cart track to the road, instead of skirting the edge of the field. We think that would be easier to maintain. = She will have to do some blazing in this section so that the route is clear. Is= obel has no email, but her phone number is 747-2296.

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9= . Breslau Update: Loretta and Lisa discussed the ATV problem on the Hopewell Trai= l in Breslau (i.e. part of the new Thomasfield development). The ATVs are accessing the trail v= ia the Signs Galore property on Woolwich St. Randy Miller of the Township’s engineering department is worki= ng with the owner to have the fencing installed as soon as possible along this section. “No motorized vehicles” signs were installed on the trail as of September 27. Phase 2 of the Hopewell trail is c= lose to completion. Ann will check= re the status of the proposed sidewalk on the east side of Woolwich St. Lisa noted the difficulty in biking= with her children to the Walter Bean trail (on the west side of the river) via Victoria St. Ann will i= nquire with the region (or MTO) about the possibility of sidewalk on Victoria St. = A link between the Thomasfield trai= l and the new Forwell development remains an outstanding item.<= /p>

1= 0. <= b>GIC: Inga has some investment info and will report at the next meeting. Pete suggested investing through I= NG Direct. It offers a good rate= and transactions can be done online.

11.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> Tr= ail link to Schaner Park, St. Jacobs: Last fall the group agreed to spend dollars to construct a trail link from the MRT to the new Schaner Park. The Region agreed to the project in the winter of 2006. However, Ann met with Regional sta= ff in August and learned that the 2007 transit study could possibly impact a trai= l if built along the train tracks., i.e. we might be requested to remove or move= the trail. This project is theref= ore on hold until the transit study is completed. Permission has been given to upgrade the north portion of Schaner Park with a short pathway. The work in Schaner Park will begi= n in 2007 as a TWEEC project.

12.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> Di= stance Markers at trail heads: Mark drafted a proposal for distance markers and road signs to be po= sted at trail access points in Woolwich. &= nbsp; Ann presented this at the January Trailway Advisory Board meeting. The group is in favour of the prop= osal and suggested that the WTG decide on the type of sign. TAB would then use this as a stand= ard to place similar signs on their trail outside of Woolwich. Funding for this project is availab= le from a donation made by the former St. Jacobs Optimist Club. This will likely be a spring projec= t.

13.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> Ot= her: 1- Ann to inquire with Township st= aff regarding the status/possibility of having a sidewalk installed on the north side of Sawmill Road in Conestogo, west of the bridge. 2- Ann to provide a revised contac= t list at the next meeting.

14.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> Ne= xt Meeting: Thursday October 26, 7 pm at the fire hall in St. Jacobs.

Dates to remember……

Next WTG Meeting: Thursday October 26, 7 pm at = the St. Jacobs firehall.

Sunday, October 15, 2 pm: Enjoy the fall colours on the Grand Valley Trail near Elora, 2 hr hike.

From West Montrose, take Middlebrook Road= (#62) north into Pilkington Township. Continue north on Middlebrook Road to Eight Line Road and turn right. Park on the north side= of the road approximately half of a kilometre west of the bridge.

Trail rating: challenging hike due to ste= ep hills. No baby buggies or dogs please.

Sunday, November 19, 2 pm: Discover the n= ew Lions Ring Trail in Elmira, 2 hr hike. <= /span>

Enjoy the new stone dust trail in Elmira.= Meet at the trail entrance on the = east end of Oriole Parkway just west of the train tracks. Trail rating: easy walking level stone dust trail.