Attendees:
Brian Wade: Welcomed everybody, presented the agenda and invited additions.
Motion: To approve the November minutes. Moved by Christine Johnson, seconded by John Sankey, carried.
Walkability Survey
Sue McCarthy: Les Whitney is a member of the Council on Aging of Ottawa. He is on the Committee on Pedestrian Safety.
Les Whitney: A walkability audit is an important part in promoting health and well being. It identifies the pedestrian routes that are important and then examines them for four aspects that are important for older people: safety, accessibility, convenience and connectedness, comfort and attractiveness.
Sue McCarthy: How do we get started?
Les Whitney: Start in February. Check maps of your area and figure out what routes are important.
Bernie Geiger: The sidewalk on Plante is paved with asphalt. Near the Quarry Co-op, it's broken and uneven. Condor and Avocado have no sidewalks but the asphalt on the streets have cracks in them.
John Sankey: As a member of a group, he conducted walkability surveys in the old City of Gloucester. They did the routes from the school bus stops first. They took lots of pictures.
Dianne Nahal: She is interested in helping.
Sue McCarthy: Anyone wanting to participate in the planning or execution of the Hunt Club Walkability Survey, please contact her. It will likely be done in February 2018.
South Ottawa News
Brian Wade: The Ottawa South News will be closing January, 2018.
John Sankey: As part of the deal between Torstar and Postmedia, all of Ottawa's community newspapers are to be shut down: Metro Ottawa, Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nepean/Barrhaven News, Orleans News, Ottawa East News, Ottawa South News, Ottawa West News, Stittsville News, West Carleton Review.
Sue McCarthy: We cannot replace Ottawa South News on our own. Maybe with other community associations we could do something.
Blair Kirkpatrick: Ads in the Ottawa Citizen are seven or eight times the rates of Ottawa South News. The flyers are the real attraction for businesses.
John Sankey: HCCO publishes its own newsletter Hunt Club My Community, four times a year. Ads are one eighth of the newsletter. The Riverview Park newsletter is a volunteer effort. There are lots of ads. Alta Vista does its own newspaper, Vistas. It's 35 pages. There are lots of ads. There's lots of opportunity in the south end.
Christine Johnson: We do our own newsletter - Hunt Club My Community. The hard part is to get volunteers. It does not replace Ottawa South News. It's a big loss.
Alexandra Mazur: You could contact Algonquin College. Each journalism student has a beat.
Brian Wade: A whole lot of community engagement will be lost with the closing of Ottawa South News.
Blair Kirkpatrick: Advertisers will be looking for other options. They don't want to lose the community.
John Sankey: We could publish Hunt Club My Community every two months instead of every three.
Bernie Geiger: Newspapers are on a downward trend. We used to have the Ottawa Citizen and the Ottawa Journal. Community newspapers have to compete with Facebook and Twitter.
Alix Duncan: Twitter and Facebook are a steering mechanism. They're not the news.
John Sankey: We don't quit, we evolve.
Christine Johnson: Thanks to Alexandra Mazur, Erin McCracken and Blair Kirkpatrick for sharing their knowledge and experience.
Newsletter
Sue McCarthy: A cheaper printer has been found. The reduced cost means that we are now in the black. The December issue has been printed and delivered.
Christine Johnson: We need more volunteers to deliver.
Membership
Brian Wade: We now have 56 members.
Art Club
Dianne Nahal: The Art Club runs every Tuesday between 9:30 and 12:00 at the Community Centre. There is a $2 drop-in fee. It's doing awesome! The room is full.
Councillor's Report
Alix Duncan: Presented the Councillor's Report:
The flex sticks will be pulled for the winter
Claridge Homes development on Hunt Club: The issues are traffic flow, density and tree preservation.
Walkability Survey: There are two kinds: a safety walk can be done by anyone in the community. Typically, a route is the subject of the study. The other kind is Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). This is a more formalized process, done by the police. An area such as a shopping centre is the subject of the study.
Budget:
Resurfacing the Airport Parkway between Brookfield and Hunt Club: funds have been found to resurface the road.
Shooting at Paul Anka and Uplands. The Community Police Officer has been engaged.
Christmas Social, December 12 at Carlton Heights Community Centre
Christmas Dinner at two locations: Hunt Club-Riverside Park Community Centre, December 24, 14:30 to 16:30 and Carling Recreation Centre, December 24, 15:30 to 17:30. The dinner and the serving is provided by Operation Big Turkey. People are invited to simply have Christmas dinner.
Fireworks Gala: Friday, December 29, doors open 18:45, fireworks 21:00 at the Community Centre. Inside volunteers are needed. Please contact Alix Duncan
Coyote Information Session, Monday January 8, 2018, 18:00 to 19:00 at the Community Centre
Past President's Report
Christine Johnson: She would like to thank:
John Sankey for his support as Past President,
Sue McCarthy for her work as Vice President and as Editor of the newsletter,
Peter Brimacombe for his work as Secretary and on the constitution,
Peter Foulger for his work as Treasurer,
Andre Main for her community contacts and her craft work,
Brian Wade for his work on the environment, constitution and audit.
$2500 was raised to help Syrian refugees. She passed out a flyer to support a family that is stuck in Beirut. On Saturday, December 16 there is an Art and Photo Sale to support Syrian refugee resettlement:
Paul Landry Park: It has been an honour to have worked on the revitalization of Paul Landry Park.
Paul Landry Park
Motion: To renew the adoption of Paul Landry Park. Moved by Sue McCarthy, seconded by Christine Johnson, carried.
Dianne Nahal: She made "Do Not Litter" signs out of recycled aluminum.
Proposed Ontario Cannabis Legislation
Brian Wade: Councillor Brockington circulated a pdf document on the proposed Ontario Cannabis Legislation.
Sue McCarthy: Features of the proposed legislation include:
only the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation can sell it,
the Smoke Free Ontario Act will be changed to regulate cannabis smoking,
anyone operating a vehicle after cannabis consumption will be punished,
there will be increased fines for distracted and careless driving,
the legal age to purchase, possess and consume will be 19.
Alix Duncan: Councillor Brockington is looking for feedback. Unlike alcohol consumption, cannabis consumption is hard to measure.
Les Schram: The active ingredient in marijuana is THC. In combination with alcohol, it's bad. Studies are being done but what is known right now is that THC is a hazard. Ontario is proposing a separate company to make it harder to use marijuana, cigarettes and alcohol in combination. He would like to see something other than a crown corporation. The cost will depend on the potency - the higher the potency, the higher the price. Like alcohol.
Dianne Nahal: Does medicinal marijuana have THC?
Alix Duncan: There are two kinds of marijuana: medical and recreational. Again, the Councillor is looking for feedback.
Community Centre Mural
John Sankey: Claudio Salguero led the artists. It is finished but it has to be installed on the Community Centre. Installation should be scheduled soon.
Light Transit, Naming of Station
Bernie Geiger: Confederation Station will be renamed to the Mooney's Bay Station to avoid huge confusion. There are two main lines: the Confederation Line which is the longer, more complete line. It runs east and west, across the north of the City; the other smaller line is the Trillium Line which runs north and south. The Trillium Line used to be the O Train which has a station called Confederation Station. To avoid confusion, it will be renamed the Mooney's Bay Station even though it is quite a way from Mooney's Bay on the Rideau River.
Next meeting: Monday January 9, 2018 at 19:00