MEETING OPENED by Andrew Marshall at 7.30 pm.

1. Attendance:

   Present:

   Andrew Marshall (President), Graham Heighton (Treasurer), Maurice McCormick (Vice-President), Graham Wright (Water Corp), John Blaney-Murphy, Peter Collins (CALM), Jude Allen (CALM),Bart Downe (DOE), Phil Mellon, Greg Freebury (CALM), Lionel Downes, Peter Blyth, Noel Bignell, Geoff Rolland , Sarah Comer (CALM), John Jamieson, Phillip Marshall, Dale Holley (Secretary), Monty Walker, Louise Duxbury (Greenskills), John Kratochvill

   Apologies:

   Wayne Walker (Albany Job Futures - Greencorp)

2. Minutes of Previous Meeting:

   The minutes of the previous meeting (held on 21st July, 2004) were accepted as a correct record by Graeme Heighton.

   Matters Arising from Previous Minutes
   5.1 Page 2 (Lake Powell) With regards to CALM's authority over Lake Powell, this may be interpreted as CALM having little control over the lake itself. In fact, CALM does control the water (lake) and area under the water and the surrounding reserve. They have little control over the nutrients that enter the lake.

   5.1 Page 2 (Workshop) this should read "Greg Freebury and Sarah Comer (CALM) will be running workshops to build up a list of issues identified by the community as affecting Lake Powell. A workshop will be held at the next TCG meeting to generate ideas for the Lake Powell Nature Reserve."

3. Correspondence:

   (inwards)

   • 28th July, 2004 Lotterywest acknowledging application for Lotterywest grant

   (outwards)

   • 13th August, 2004 Letter of recommendation to Allan Carter (State Manager, Greenskills) acknowledging the achievements of Kevin Hopkinson in the Torbay Catchment. Copies sent to Basil Schur (Green Skills Inc), Naomi Arrowsmith, Regional Manager, DOE), and Derek Carew-Lewis Hopkins, DOE.
   • 13th August, 2004 Letter to Kevin Hopkinson expressing the TCG's appreciation of the work he has done in the catchment.

4. TREASURERS REPORT:
   • 4.1 Financial report (attached)
   • 4.2 Reminder that subs are due

5. GENERAL BUSINESS:

   5.1 Weed Control Program

   • Sandra Maciejewski (City of Albany) has thousands of bamboo sticks available free to anyone needing them. 60cm long suitable for erecting seedling protectors. Please contact Sandra if you are interested.

   • The Council will be spraying watsonia in Torbay next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Initially it will be working along the roads where they have previously worked, as well as along Cosy Corner Road. The areas are Thomas Road, Lower Denmark Road between the train line and Perkins Road, Cosy Corner and Shelley Beach Roads. Following this the Council will be targeting the areas where infestations are minor to try and knock them back. Sandra asked if a few volunteers could help the Bushcarers drive a vehicle with the spray unit attached on the 7th,14th and 15th September. A few members volunteered to help out.

   • The TCG will be spraying watsonia north of the Lower Denmark Road. Extra Propon is available by contacting Andrew Marshall on 98 451081.

   • The Elleker Progress Association will be contacted to commence spraying in Elleker.

   • An infestation of longifolia is present on Marbellup North Road and Victorian tee tree exists half way between Cochrane Road and the Highway. The Council of Albany took out quite a lot, but because of its invasive nature, it needs to be attacked again. Louise Duxbury to contact Terry of Green Corp regarding this.

   • Watsonia along drain on Prescottvale Road, will be looked into by Graham Wright (Water Corp) and watsonia along the drain in Torbay will be another target for the Water Corp

   5.2 Green Corps Team

   applications for teams need to be submitted 4 months before the start of the projects. There is an opportunity to go for a project to start 31st January, 2005. Even though this is a bit earlier than we had planned, it has been suggested that we go for this one. The overall contract for ongoing Green Corps teams has not been extended yet, so there may be a delay before further projects are available next year. The 31st January project would go for 6 months to the end of July, so would cover fencing, tree planting, weeding and work on Lake Powell. The meeting endorsed preparation of an application for a Green Corps team starting in January, 2005. Green Skills to prepare application with input from Julie Pech, Andrew Marshall and Maurice McCormick.

   5.3 Watershed Torbay Update

   Phil Mellon and Louise Duxbury covered general issues discussed at the last Watershed Torbay Steering Committee Meeting. A copy of the Minutes can be obtained by contacting the Department of Environment. A reminder again of the importance of having as much input as possible for the Draft Restoration Plan, as it is nearing the last stages. The next few meetings for the Steering Committee are on the: 21st September, 2nd November and 14th December at the Elleker Hall starting 7.30 pm.

   5.4 A brochure on "Better Fertiliser Decisions" is available

   Contact DOE or website: http://rdu.une.edu.au/nutrientresponse/

   5.5 Map

   A map cabinet has been donated by DOE for the protection and storage of any maps the TCG have.

   5.6 Workshop - Lake Powell Nature Reserve

   Peter Collins (CALM) welcomed back Jude Allen (CALM Albany Departmental Planning Office) and introduced Greg Freebury (Albany Operations Officer for the Reserves) and Sarah Comer (Ecologist working for CALM's Albany Office and also on Steering Committee). The aim of the workshop was to begin drafting Interim Management Guidelines for Lake Powell Nature Reserve. A questionnaire was handed out for feedback on "Your Use of the Reserve", "Positive aspects of current management", "Any changes needed to current management" and "Do you have information about Lake Powell that we may not know about?" If you would like to contribute ideas or you have concerns please contact Jude Allen at CALM for a copy of the questionnaire. Members of the TCG will arrange to meet with CALM to walk the Reserve and report back to the meeting. Some of the issues discussed were: Weeds , feral animals, fire issues, legal access and identifying boundaries of Lake Powell.

NEXT MEETING: The next AGM and General meeting of the Torbay Catchment Group will be held on Wednesday 13th October, 2004. AGM 7.30-8.00 pm. General Meeting 8.00-9.30pm.