Attendees:
John Sankey: He presented the agenda and asked for approval.
Motion: To approve the May 2014 minutes as amended. Moved by Fred McLennan, seconded by Marilyn Koch, carried.
Requests to the Councillor
Christine Johnson: We make many requests to the Councillor's assistant but we rarely get an answer.
John Sankey: Last meeting we made three motions concerning cleaning up Paul Landry Park
Motion 1: asking that the City remove the heavy debris: not done
Motion 2: asking Ottawa Community Housing to remove its garbage: done
Motion 3: asking that Bylaw Enforcement pursue whoever dumped the flyers: Bylaw Enforcement did not get involved but MetroLand, the company that distributes the flyers did clean them up.
Newsletter: Hunt Club My Community
Christine Johnson: The June issue is out. Finding sponsors is getting more difficult. We need more help in delivering the four issues a year.
Glenn MacCrimmon and George Plante volunteered to help with delivery.
Treasurer's Report
Peter Foulger: Presented the Treasurer's Report. There is members' surplus of $9,161.94.
Fred McLennan: What are we going to spend it on?
John Sankey: We are awaiting proposals. The money was used to bankroll the newsletter which is now basically breaking even.
Louise Leduc: The park equipment is geared for young children but there are more and more seniors why not invest in gazebos where they can visit with each other while enjoying a shaded area and see the kids playing?
Councillor's Report
Maria McRae: Presented the Councillor's Report. One item was operation "Take it Back". Some of the waste is hazardous and cannot be safely left at the curb for pickup. Some retailers will accept hazardous waste for recycling.
Fred McLennan: Can you return hazardous waste to a store even though you have not bought it there?
Maria McRae: Yes but considering just paint, many stores do not take it back. By taking it back, stores can contribute to its proper disposal as well as reduce the costs to the City. Many other products have an environmental disposal fee which the Province collects but in many cases the City disposes of them so in effect there is a double charge.
Another item in the Report was "Investing in River Ward Parks".
Peter Foulger: Is there anything related to Paul Landry Park?
Maria McRae: Four years ago, the City rejuvenated the equipment in the Park.
John Sankey: Almost nobody uses it.
Christine Johnson: The equipment in Paul Landry Park is geared towards very young children but parents don't take their children there because of undesirable activity.
Maria McRae: People prefer to use the equipment on their own property. The equipment in Ottawa Community Housing projects is quite good and that's where the parents feel comfortable taking their children.
Peter Foulger: The City arborist has promised to visit the Park. Is he coming back?
Maria McRae: Paul Landry Park is in the queue. Five years ago there was a major blitz.
Another item in the Report was "Baseline Road Resurfacing".
Christine Johnson: There are a lot of pot holes on Paul Anka. Do I call 311 or the Councillor?
Maria McRae: Go through 311. In the case of Uplands Drive, I personally made sure that the road was resurfaced.
Fred McLennan: This year, pot holes have been especially bad. Does the City have an plan to deal with them?
Maria McRae: The winter was unusually cold. This is the direct cause of the number and severity of the pot holes. The intense cold even without freeze-thaw cycles makes the asphalt brittle and causes it to break.
George Plante: There was a huge pot hole in Bronson Avenue. The City fixed the one hole but left many others. Question: What is the long term strategy to fix the pot holes?
Maria McRae: Staff is constantly looking at best practices across Canada to see if they can be adopted in our City. As I said, in the case of Uplands Drive, I made sure that it was resurfaced. Transportation Committee is responsible for pot holes and roads in general.
Christine Johnson: The Mayor has invited people to the Doors Open Ottawa, June 7th and 8th.
Retirees in Motion
Louise Leduc: She presented a program for seniors "Retirees in Motion". The idea is to find activities that seniors could do that would add value to the community. She offered to support HCCO projects.
John Sankey: We need volunteers to clean up the parks, to deliver the newsletter and to develop articles for the newsletter.
Louise Leduc: It's hard to find space in the Community Centre, for example to do exercise programs for seniors.
John Sankey: That's because the Retirees in Motion program is part of the South East Ottawa Health Centre which is entirely separate from the Hunt Club-Riverside Park Community Centre. The two organizations share space in the Community Centre but they are entirely separate.
Christine Johnson: We could put an article about Retirees in Motion in our newsletter.
Update the HCCO Web Page
John Sankey: He sent out an e-mail with suggestions for the home page. He is looking to highlight advantages of Hunt Club. One of them: Hunt Club has three times the publicly accessible green space as the rest of the City.
Christine Johnson: Do we have demographic statistics for our community?
John Sankey: Hunt Club is covered by two Census Districts.
Annette Bourgeois: How do you become a member of the HCCO?
John Sankey: Membership is $10 a year. The period is from September in one year to June in the next so he'll sell memberships in September.
Airport Parkway Environmental Assessment
John Sankey: Bernie Geiger alerted us to this issue but he's not here tonight. The City has proposed widening the Airport Parkway. The extra lanes may be dedicated to High Occupancy Vehicles (HOV). To have input to the Assessment we need to go through the Councillor.
Motion: HCCO requests the Councillor that it be given an opportunity for input into all phases of the Airport Parkway widening. Moved by Peter Foulger, seconded by Christine Johnson, carried.
Next meeting: Monday September 8 at 19:00