Monthly Meeting
January 8, 2008
Attendees:
- John Sankey, President
- Alan Asselstine, Treasurer
- Peter Brimacombe, Secretary
- Fred McLennan
- Gisèle Loiselle-Branch, Membership Director
- Shelley Parlow
- Nichole Hoover, Assistant to the Councillor
- Bill Royds
Motion: To accept last month’s minutes as presented. moved by Shelley Parlow, seconded by Peter Brimacombe, carried.
Motion: To proceed with Peter Brimacombe as Secretary, Gisèle Loiselle-Branch as Membership Director and Fred McLennan as director. moved by Shelley Parlow, seconded by Gisèle Loiselle-Branch, carried.
Nichole Hoover: Councillor Maria McCrae is visiting her mother-in-law in Sudbury this week. Nichole will bring items to Maria as requested.
Alan Asselstine: The City has purchased the former Bayview School on Riverside Drive. It could be used for recreation in which case the HCRCC http://hcrcc.ca/ should operate the recreation program.
Nichole Hoover: The HCRCC Board did discuss this at its last meeting.
Motion: The HCCO supports the concept that the HCRCC operate the recreational programs out of the former Bayview School on Riverside Drive. moved by Alan Asselstine, seconded by Peter Brimacombe, carried.
Shelley Parlow: On December 6, 2007 the City and the NCC appeared at a pre-hearing of the OMB and asked for a deferment. They agreed to mediation among the parties: the NCC, the City and the Greenspace Alliance. Mediation is to take place on April 24th and 25th with another pre-hearing scheduled for May 6, 2008.
Motion: Whereas the HCCO is a participant in the appeals process, we request to be a party in the mediation process. moved by Shelley Parlow, seconded by Fred McLennan, carried.
Motion: To renew our membership in the Greenspace Alliance. Fee is $10. moved by Shelley Parlow, seconded by Fred McLennan, carried.
Bill Royds: Presented the Poet’s Path. The Greenspace Alliance wants the NCC to preserve land for parklands rather than development. Would we be interested in including the Poet’s Pathway in community activities?
Alan Asselstine: Ottawa will continue to grow and there are two options: it can go up or out. You can’t say not here and not there. At some time the City will have to decide to go up somewhere!
Motion: That the HCCO support in principle the notion that the Poet’s Pathway run through our neighbourhood. Moved by Shelley Parlow, seconded by Gisèle Loiselle-Branch.
Fred McLennan: We are not defining the width of the Poet’s Pathway.
Motion was carried.
Alan Asselstine has studied ways of getting access from our neighbourhood to the constructed wetlands and South Keys. He presented a map of the constructed wetlands and described seven potential access routes. Updated documentation is attached for comment and then presented to Councillor Maria McRae. There was a general expression of appreciation for Alan’s work.
John Sankey: The Hunt Club/Riverside Community Services Centre has a Homework Club where high school students can get special tutoring. However, the people running the Centre cannot offer this service to more students because they have only a very small room. John is trying to find more room.
Peter Brimacombe: In the last year, there has been a 50% increase in oil prices. This increase is an indication that we have reached peak oil. The major oil fields of the world are in decline. Housing developments like Findlay Creek and Riverside South make less and less economic sense. As energy costs continue to rise, we need higher density developments in the core because they allow us to develop more efficient infrastructure like transportation, water and sewers. The Southern Corridor is an obvious place to put such developments.
John Sankey: $100/barrel oil is what is needed to develop the oil sands. Syncrude was started with the prospect of $100/barrel oil. Shell Oil also is developing the oil sands. The higher price of oil should allow for more efficient use of water and the development of nuclear energy to extract the oil from the sand.
Bill Royds: The oil is still being exhausted. Greenspace is still essential within the urban areas because plants filter out toxins in the air and water. You can plan to have higher density and keep the greenspace.
Alan Asselstine: In Essen, Germany, people live in high density housing but have vegetable gardens in nearby open space. Ownership of the gardens is separate from the housing.
John Sankey: receives planning documents concerning our neighbourhood. He would like someone with more experience in our neighbourhood to review them.
Bill Royds: The City provides “Heads Up” notices of the planning documents.
Fred McLennan: will ask Nichole for the Heads Up notices. On another subject, the new downtown parking rates are too much and should be reviewed.
Bill Royds: South Key merchants have an advantage over downtown merchants because the South Key merchants pay minimal tax on their parking lot.
Next meeting: Monday February 4, 2008 at 19:30