Attendees:
Regional Councillor, Wendy Stewart, reported on the following: Raising the speed limit on Hunt Club Rd. to 70-80km. Transportation Committee will meet on 15 Jan to decide, and public is welcome to make presentations. Remove truck route designation from Walkley Rd. west between Airport Parkway and Riverside Dr. HCCO members were concerned that this would increase truck traffic on Hunt Club Rd., which has more residential and service facilities than Walkley Rd. west. Public information session held 10pm 3 Dec in Honeywell Room, Ottawa-Carleton Centre. Regional Police adult school crossing guard program. 1997 Police budget submission recommends maintaining same level of funding in 1997 as in 1996. Public open house on the budget held 4-8pm 4 Dec at RMOC; public delegations to be heard on Mon 16 Dec 5pm. OC Transpo strike. Province has cut $10M in transportation funding. Union and OTC are deadlocked re what to do. Region has a strategy to minimize impact on public throughout the holiday season. Call 1-800-56-SHARE (for provincial share-a-ride program help), or call Wendy's office for info and help. From 28 Nov a media blackout was imposed on OC- Region dialog. Review of governance in Region. New report is available reviewing the division of responsibilities between Region and local governments: re sewers, planning, electricity, taxes, special purpose bodies. Special meeting of Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee being considered for 9 Dec; public welcome. Regional budget 1997. Region is waiting for Province to provide additional information re subsidies before Region reviews its funding of its services. Expect to table 1997 estimates on 11 Dec following by a budget open house (to the public) on 8 Jan 97. Committee will review budgets during Jan-Feb. Final budget decisions to be made on 26 Feb. Draft estimates available. Call Wendy's office for more information.
City Ward 0T8 Councillor, Karin Howard: The Howard Report for 1996 is available. Local issues covered are: Improved City accountability (reports available). City auditor, sollicitor, clerk, and treasurer now report directly to Council and no longer need to filter their communication through City staff first. Performance appraisals of Commissioners must now be completed annually. Renumeration of senior City staff. City staff have been directed to provide quarterly performance reports, measuring accomplishments against objectives. Council has introduced monthly accountability reports, which must include financial statements. These have not yet been implemented. City participating in provincial pilot project to develop a financial and service level reporting system that will determine the best way of informing taxpayers of how their money is spent and on what. Monitoring how City staff delegate authority, award contracts, make changes to their organizations, and terminate employment. Not having missed a single Council meeting. Opposed a reduction to contributions to the City pay-as-you-go account, which account resources the effort to not increase debt by paying for expenses as they are encountered. Along the same vein, moved to direct City staff to provide council with statistics on capital projects. Limiting the City debt. Better revenue management for money coming to the City from the Federal government. Protecting the urban green corridor. Natural and Open Spaces Study (NOSS) to establish new parameters upon which to rate (assign values to) natural assets. Protecting McCarthy Woods. Monitoring the future of 4160 Riverside Dr. (SW of Hunt Club Rd. and Riverside just west of the airport). Updating City zoning bylaw to Z2020. - Hunt Club Neighborhood Plan. Saving several rinks from closure - will depend on how much those rinks are used by the public. Friendship Windmill Corporation still searching for acceptable site. Confederation Heights developers required to pay $225,000 cash in lieu of parkland to go towards implementing the Mooney's Bay Stewardship Plan. Fundraising for replacing burned Experimental Farm buildings. Hellenic Festival. Area residents' concerned were resolved by compromise. - Lebanese Fun Festival. Similar concerns to be ironed out. Some ongoing items: 1997 budget process. 1997 budget documents are available from Client Service Centre, public libraries, fire stations, community centers, and indoor pools. Public delegations can speak to City Council in Victoria Hall on 12 Dec (9:15am-9pm) and 13 Dec (9:15am-5pm). Budget deliberations ongoing 16-18 Dec in Victoria Hall. Final approval is scheduled for 18 Dec. Ottawa Public Library has launched a new World Wide Web site. Address is http://www.opl.ottawa.on.ca Fire safety video kit (second video) deals with high-rise fire safety. To order, call Liz Drader, Public Education Office. For city-related issues, call Karin's office.
Hunt Club Neighborhood Plan: Moved, seconded, passed: Keep transitway as eastern boundary for plan. Diane Deans, Councillor for Ward 0T3, needs time to discuss boundaries with the South Keys Greenboro Community Association. Moved, seconded, passed: Accept most recent draft of Terms of Reference document, with amendments. Important to have a plan that blends well with intentions of neighboring communities, and also with the principles outlined in higher-level City and regional plans. The next Public Advisory Committee (PAC) to be held 7pm Mon 16 Dec at 1145 Hunt Club Rd., Suite 500. Call Jeff Hunter for more information.
Protecting disappearing woodlands and our green spaces: South Keys Shopping Centres Ltd. is proposing to cut down 5 acres of wooded land by the South Keys OC Transpo station in order to build the 12-theatre complex, some adjacent buildings, and a parking lot. A public meeting on the proposed site plan was hosted by Diane Deans at 7:30pm, Dunlop School, 1310 Pebble Rd., Thu 5 Dec.: Meeting was well attended; chief topics were car traffic, environment, and a south-end public library. Concern by Greenboro residents that the west part of Cahill Rd. extension to Bank St. would funnel cars into the residential neighborhood (east Cahill Rd.) east of Bank. Developer, City, and Region assured residents that signals and barriers would prevent this. One person suggested misaligning the west Cahill Rd. to form a natural barrier. Another recommendation that will come into effect was to change the road name west of Bank to something other than Cahill. South Keys is proposing to give some 1500 sq. ft. of space rent free for 5 years to the City for a potential south-end library branch, to be rented after that at half the going rate for the following 20 years. This is a very good deal should the City be able to afford setup and maintenance library costs; maintenance costs alone could run to $500,000/year. The City would need to increase its debt to be able to start up such a branch. In exchange for being allowed to develop all of its area without providing any parkland (as per the City bylaw), South Keys Ltd. has paid $189,000 to the City, which the City is going to use to partly fund the development of a conservation water retention area between the shopping center and the transitway. It was suggested that South Keys retain all or part of the existing wooded area to naturally absorb the water runoff from the new parking lots, as well as to provide a visual barrier and windbreak between the open parking spaces. It was also suggested that South Keys modify its site plan to position the buildings closer to the residential area they are meant to serve, and to give the buildings a smaller footprint. This could make the shopping more attractive and convenient to pedestrians and thus reduce the car traffic and traffic-related concerns. South Keys proposes to retain a narrow strip of wooded area (6m by 30m), and to leave it untouched, on the eastern edge. City is to review the site plan on 22 Feb; public presentations are welcome at that time, but should be reserved through Diane in advance. If approved, construction could start in the Spring. South Keys has already cut down a large swath of regrown woodland in order to build the mall. Removing existing woodland lowers the water table, promotes dryness and dust in summer, and increases water runoff during rainy periods. In other words, without woodland (which takes 50-100 years to regrow) the water falling during rainy periods is not retained to humidify and cool drier periods. Call Peter Vasdi for more information.
Regional-local governance: Idea discussion on restructuring area government into one larger regional governing body supported by regulated neighborhood advisory planning groups with decision-making capabilities.
Other issues: Region is considering buying land around the airport in order to limit development. Land at 4160 Riverside Rd.: Motion put on hold: support Regional desire to purchase this land until land use can be assessed and changed. City hearing scheduled for 7 Jan to table information and recommendations. Some lands owned by the School Board are being declared surplus and put up for sale. Moved, seconded, passed: Alan Asselstine to become treasurer for this fiscal year (Aug 96 - Jul 97). Fred McLennan, Alan, and Art Miskew to be given signing authority.
Next HCCO meeting to be held Mon 6 Jan 97 at 7:30 p.m. at the Hunt Club Riverside Community Centre at the corner of Paul Anka and McCarthy. Anyone is welcome. Call Fred McLennan for more information.