Minutes of Meeting 5 December 2016

Attendees:

Christine Johnson, President
Sue McCarthy, Vice President
Peter Foulger, Treasurer
Peter Brimacombe, Secretary
John Sankey, Past President
Brian Wade, Director
Ijeoma Udechukwu, Director
Marilyn Koch, Director
Kristy Nystrom, Director
Dan Kaplansky, Director
Riley Brockington, Councillor
Dave Armitage
Denyse Baizana
Leslie Behnia
Al Gullon
Dora Joseph
Glen MacCrimmon
Dianne Nahal
Marwan Nahal
Linda Pedley
Brent Scollie
Wendy Vance
Marc Trottier

Motion: To approve the agenda. Moved by John Sankey, seconded by Ijeoma Udechukwu, carried.

Motion: To approve the November, 2016 minutes. Moved by Marilyn Koch, seconded by Kristy Nystrom, carried.

Councillor's Report
Riley Brockington: Presented the Councillor's Report:

Public Consultation: Redesign of Bank Street: The City of Ottawa has developed a preliminary design for the renewal of Bank Street between Riverside Drive and Ledbury Avenue.
River Ward Christmas Social: All residents are invited to attend my annual Christmas Social, to be held on December 13, 2016 from 6-8pm at the Carleton Heights Community Centre, 1665 Apeldoorn Avenue.
Budget Day: December 14: City Council will meet for the final time in 2016 on December 14 to debate the draft 2017 City of Ottawa Budget.
Public Consultation, Paul Landry Park Playground: I will be hosting a public open house/consultation night on December 14 from 4-7pm at the HCRPCC.
Plante Drive - Post November HCCO Meeting: I have ordered the Public Works/Traffic Dept to post 40 km/hr speed limit signs on the entire stretch of Plante Drive, both sides.
Riverside Drive/Rivergate Way Turn Signal: Following multiple years of requests, and my own involvement and lobbying within City Hall, I am proud to announce that the City will finally implement a left hand turn signal at the Riverside/Rivergate intersection.

David Armitage: There used to be a flashing yellow light at the curve on McCarthy. It's gone. Will it be replaced?
Riley Brockington: An accident in the area knocked out power to the amber light. It will be fixed soon.
Marc Trottier: A guard rail on the curve may worsen the situation for cyclists. It may also bounce vehicles into the other lane where they could hit opposing traffic head-on.
John Sankey: The guard rail recommended by the National Research Centre is designed to stop vehicles from bouncing.
Dan Kaplansky: The City's goal is a 2% budget increase but this may not be enough to maintain the infrastructure. It needs to be maintained and we should spend what we have to. Last meeting you briefly mentioned dogs in Owl Park. What's the situation?
Riley Brockington: No new steps have been taken yet. He will circulate a community bulletin in the Spring.
Peter Brimacombe: Six years ago, my daughter complained that she and her daughter were threatened by dogs in the play structures. This was a problem but overall the dog walkers group in Owl Park are a positive influence. The group should have authority over dogs in the Park - they know it's a balancing act but they don't have authority.
Christine Johnson: The majority of dog walkers are responsible. It's the exceptions that are the problem.
Leslie Behnia: The Federal Liberals have promised money for infrastructure projects. Is the City going to get any?
Riley Brockington: The Federal Liberals have identified three categories for their infrastructure investments: transit, water and social infrastructure. So far transit and water have been addressed. There is a massive infrastructure deficit.
Wendy Vance: Toronto is moving to toll roads. Is Ottawa?
Riley Brockington: No
Al Gullon: Toll roads increase accidents on other roads. Some drivers take the other roads to avoid them.
Marc Trottier: There are too many emergency personnel at minor incidents. There was a fire on Uplands and a dozen emergency personnel were there.

Treasurer's Report
Peter Foulger presented the Treasurer's Report:
Sponsorships of $100 each were received from the City of Ottawa and Can-Air World Travel. Other receipts were $48 for the Art Club from Dianne Nahal and $60 in memberships from C. Johnson.
Interest of $0.22 was paid by Alterna.
Payments for UPS Store printing of $612.46 was made to C.Johnson..
The Refugee Fund Committee authorized payment of $2,547.15 to Emmanuel United. C Johnson was reimbursed for the payment.
Sub-accounts:
Activity:
Hunt Club Refugee Fund 31 Oct balance $ 2,583.90
Hunt Club Refugee Fund disbursements - $ 2,547.15
Garden Club receipts $ 48.00
Balances:
Hunt Club Refugee Fund balance $ 36.75
Garden Fund balance $ 0.00
Art Club Fund balance $ 48.00
Balance Sub-accounts $ 84.75
Members Surplus
Balance as of 1 August 2016 $ 9,172.74
Year to date expenses, HCCO $ 2,067.40
Year to date receipts, HCCO $ 1,470.54
Increase/(decrease) for year, HCCO -$ 596.86
Member's surplus, HCCO $ 8,575.88
Total funds (Members surplus + funds) $ 8,660.63
Reconciliation:
Cash not deposited $ 0.00
Alterna share , HCCO $ 15.00
Alterna Account, HCCO & funds $ 2,645.63
Alterna Term Deposit HCCO $ 6,000.00
Total all funds $ 8,660.63
Receivables & Liabilities:
We are owed four sponsorships for December.

Christine Johnson: The HCCO has raised money to help Syrian Refugee Families. The Refugee Committee has given almost all of it ($2,547.15) to Emmanuel United Church. The Church is a sponsorship agreement holder approved by the Federal Government. It has formed a partnership with the Riverview Park Community Association. She wrote a personal cheque to Emmanuel United Church because community associations like the HCCO cannot use tax deductions. The tax credit she will receive in 2017 will be donated back to the refugee family.

Membership
Brian Wade: Two memberships were sold tonight! There is a new form for memberships and there is check-in form for the meetings. These new forms will make it easier to manage the memberships.
Ijeoma Udechukwu: Do members now have the right to vote?
Christine Johnson: Yes

Environment
Brian Wade: The committee is working on a community garden in Cahill Park. It is hoped construction will begin in the spring. The funding agency is Just Food. Jordon Bouchard is the Co-ordinator. Just Food wants to make community gardens accessible to handicapped people but their requirements are too costly. Uplands Court is a condominium located right next to the Park. The Condominium Association has approved the connection to its water system but there will be a separate meter just for the community garden. Cost for the connection will be in the range of $10,000 to $20,000. There will be a fee for each plot and the water used will be part of the fee. We hope that construction will start in the spring in which case we will need diggers!

Newsletter
Sue McCarthy: The December issue is out! 3000 newsletters are printed each month and the environmental impact needs to be considered. An electronic format would save the paper and the trees. The HCCO website could be updated or the newsletter could be put on social media such as Facebook.

Christine Johnson: Paul Landry Park is named after Paul Landry who now lives in Kelowna BC. He is coming to Ottawa for the 150th anniversary of Canada! Since he is hearing impaired, it would be helpful to identify an interpreter who would assist us in communication when we meet him.

Constitution
Peter Brimacombe: The committee is made of Christine Johnson, Brian Wade and myself. We met last week.
20 years ago, there was a rule that half the directors be elected one year and the other half the following year. The rule was put in place to block a hostile takeover but it was dropped because it was impractical - it was always unclear who was elected for how long. Our practice for the last 10 years has been to elect all the directors each year. The committee has proposed a new rule: that directors must receive two thirds of the vote to be elected. This new rule would make it more difficult to take over the organization.
The committee has adopted the principle that members can vote on policy issues such as traffic rules and land development. Ordinary members cannot vote on motions to disperse funds of the organization nor can they vote to remove directors. Only directors can vote to disperse funds and only they can vote to remove directors.
John Sankey: Our bank account makes us a target for a hostile takeover. Excess funds should be donated to worthy causes such as Paul Landry Park.
Christine Johnson: Some of these funds could also be put towards the party we are planning with the South East Ottawa Community Health Centre on May 13, 2017 to celebrate Canada's 150th birthday.
Lynda Pedley: Another idea is the community garden in Cahill Park.

South East Ottawa Community Health Centre
Ijeoma Udechukwu: The Association of Ontario Health Centres has prepared an MPP handout to address Bill 41: The Patients First Act. She made copies and gave them to everyone at the meeting. She urged people to contact MPP John Fraser. Main points of the handout:

Strengthen the objects of the LHINs to reduce health disparities and inequities
Add definitions to clarify the mandate of the LHINs in addressing health and wellbeing
Strengthen French Language Services
Address concerns about increased LHIN powers
Do not give the LHINs the mandate for service delivery, including care coordination

Ottawa Community Housing
David Armitage: Last meeting Ottawa Community Housing presented plans to develop land on 3225 Uplands. The new development is right beside the existing project on Uplands Drive - Ashgrove. Hunt Club already has more than its share of community housing. He visited the site. It will require blasting to put in the foundations. It will require 44 oak trees be cut down. Because this is a publicly funded development it is not subject to the same controls as a privately funded development.
Riley Brockington: He is planning a public consultation meeting for January.
John Sankey: When Ashgrove was proposed, the Province ordered the buildings be set back from the road in order to restrict the number of community housing units.
Christine Johnson: We have more than our fair share of community housing. Have other areas in the City been considered?
Ijeoma Udechukwu: Ottawa Community Housing is not doing a good job of managing its property! Tenants at Ashgrove throw their garbage over the fence. There are social issues. I want to enjoy my house. It's not fair that our neighbourhood has more than its share of community housing.
Riley Brockington: River ward has the second highest number of Ottawa Community Housing projects in the City.
Al Gullon: The proposed development will lower property values of nearby houses.

Next meeting: Monday January 9, 2017 at 19:00