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restoration work by the old canal

Conservation authority hopes to remove 14 greenhouses

Craig Campbell & Mike Pearson, Dundas Star News Staff
Published on Dec 11, 2009

By requesting a $131,822 interest-free loan from the City of Hamilton, the Hamilton Conservation Authority is taking a first step towards remediation of the former Veldhuis greenhouse property purchased nearly one year ago.

If everything goes according to plan, the long process of cleaning up the site should begin early next spring.

Tony Horvat, the HCA director of land management, said last week the requested loan would pay for the removal of 14 unused greenhouses on the property. It will not pay for removal of five existing commercial and residential buildings, and one operating greenhouse, which will remain there for at least another full year.

“We’d like to be finished by the first of May (2010),” Horvat said of removing the first 14 greenhouses. “I might have to adjust that date.”

The loan request is expected to be considered by city councillors in January.

There are no plans or budget yet for any possible contaminated soil removal, as a phase two environmental assessment is still being finalized and no overall budget is set. A report on the EA is anticipated to go to the association board in January.

The HCA has already spent about $30,000 on consulting fees and has a $10,000 contingency allowance.

Horvat said the site still contains an array of greenhouse equipment and planting beds that must be removed.

In early 2008, the HCA purchased the Veldhuis site with intentions of naturalizing the area, re-opening access to the Desjardins Canal and new conservation site linking environmentally sensitive areas in Cootes Paradise. The City of Hamilton contributed $300,000, from a Dundas park fund, to the purchase.

http://www.dundasstarnews.com/news/article/196941

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