Monthly Meeting
September 14, 2015
Attendees:
- John Sankey, President
- Christine Johnson, Vice President
- Peter Foulger, Treasurer
- Peter Brimacombe, Secretary
- Marilyn Koch
- Riley Brockington, Councillor
- Sue McCarthy
- Glenn MacCrimmon
- Lynda Pedley
- Al Gullon
- Dan Kaplansky
- Ches Croft
- George Millar
- Vlad Tonkykh
- Katherine Grieder
- Peter Guindon
- Eli Khouri
- David Armitage
- Brian Wade
- Elizabeth Carty
Paul Landry Park
John Sankey: The first half of the meeting will consist of a consultation on Paul Landry Park. There are four options. Options 3 and 4 require changing the zoning. Most of it is zoned Environmental Protection which means that trees and bushes are allowed to grow naturally. The rest is zoned Open Space which means it is more intensively managed, there are lawns and play structures. Changing the zoning is a long process.
Ches Croft: Does the zoning Open Space mean clear cut?
John Sankey: It certainly means that trees are not allowed to grow wherever they like. Trees are planted according to a plan which includes the species and their location.
Riley Brockington: Ash trees were cut down because of the emerald ash borer disease. Paul Landry Park is one of three parks in his ward where large swaths of trees were cut down. The cutting has brought the Park to people’s attention which is a good thing. He welcomes the discussion.
Christine Johnson: We are talking about the Park because we are concerned about safety in and around it and because we want to be proud of it. We had a big meeting in April. There were many good suggestions and ideas. Since then we have had regular clean-ups which have transformed the Park. We met with City staff. Today we want to present four options and have a vote to choose one:
- leave the Park as is. Zoning would remain as is.
- leave the zoning as is but ask the City to clean it up. Suggestions would be to remove the buckthorn and dead trees.
- change the zoning. Most of Park is zoned Environmental Protection. Change Environmental Protection to Open Space. The part that is presently zoned as Open Space has play structures. They would remain as is.
- change the zoning as in Option 3 but ask the City to upgrade the play structures.
To allow everyone living near the Park to vote, 370 flyers advertising this meeting were designed, published and distributed to households.
George Millar: How long will the rezoning take?
John Sankey: As long as two years. Depending on City staff.
Katherine Grieder: If the zoning is changed to Open Space does that allow other uses?
Christine Johnson: No buildings would be allowed.
Vlad Tonkykh: If you had barbeques then would there have to be parking?
Christine Johnson: The idea is that people walk to the park. Parking is not provided.
John Sankey: A thousand people live right next to it.
Peter Guindon: What trees are sustainable?
John Sankey: There are 12 species of trees which would be sustainable. Trees take a long time to grow. 25 years is short term for forestry.
Elizabeth Carty: What about noise?
John Sankey: There would not be barbeques with any of the options. Hemlock hedges provide good privacy. They could be planted if people wanted.
Christine Johnson: Only options 2 and 4 have upgraded play structures.
Eli Khouri: Houses that border parks are premium.
Note: The vote was held during the meeting. Christine Johnson and Brian Wade counted the votes: At the end of the meeting Christine Johnson announced the vote:
Option 1: 0
Option 2: 1
Option 3: 3
Option 4: 27
Motion to approve Minutes
Motion: To approve the June 2015 minutes. Moved by Peter Foulger, seconded by Ches Croft, carried.
Notice of E-mail vote
John Sankey: There is a provision in the HCCO Constitution to allow votes by e-mail. Over the summer, there was an e-mail vote to approve sponsorships from the federal candidates to the newsletter provided that all candidates were invited. There were 8 votes in favour and none opposed.
Community Festival
Sue McCarthy: The community festival was held September 12 at the Community Centre.
Motion: To formally thank the firms that contributed food to the Festival: T & T, Shawarma Planet, Riverside Pizza, Tim Hortons Hunt Club Road.
moved by John Sankey, seconded by Sue McCarthy, carried.
Desjardins Hunt Club, the Office of the Councillor and the South East Ottawa Health Centre also contributed to the Festival.
Councillor’s Report
Riley Brockington: He expressed gratitude to the HCCO for spearheading the Community Festival.
Airport Parkway Pedestrian Bridge: There is an ongoing safety audit of the Bridge. Residents have until the end of this month to make comments.
Intersection of Paul Anka and McCarthy: A young boy was struck at this intersection. Since then zebra stripes have been painted on the road and pedestrians have an advanced green.
Traffic calming on Paul Anka and Uplands: Opinions are divided. We can have a discussion in January 2016.
Vlad Tonkykh: He saw traffic forced into the left hand lane by cars parked right beside the vertical sticks.
Riley Brockington: The vertical sticks were repositioned to try to avoid this problem. You could drive over them if you have to.
Al Gullon: Was consideration given to Shared Space? Under the Shared Space concept, priority is given to vulnerable users.
Riley Brockington: The environmental assessment study on the twinning of the Airport Parkway is coming to a conclusion. On October 7 this will be discussed at the Riverside Park Annual General Meeting. In February, staff will present their plans.
John Sankey: There is another environmental assessment study on the extension of the O Train.
Treasurer’s Report
Peter Foulger: Presented the Year End Report for the Fiscal Year ending 31 July
2014-15 receipts
Membership $ 260.00
Donations $ 300.00
Interest $ 42.86
Sponsorship $ 2,400.00
Misc $ 54.63
Total revenue $ 3,057.49
2014-15 expenses
Bank charges $ 74.58
Operating $ 12.00
Newsletter $ 2,448.49
Misc (projector, social, flyer) $ 1,057.34
Total expense $ 3,592.41
Increase/(decrease) for year $ (534.92)
Member’s surplus 31 July 2014 $ 9,361.94
Member’s surplus 31 July 2015 $ 8,827.02
Reconciliation:
Alterna share $ 15.00
Alterna Account $ 2,771.58
Alterna Term Deposit $ 6,040.44
A complete listing of all transactions has been submitted to the President with a copy to the Secretary.
He also presented a report for the period of August 2015 up to the September 14 meeting:
August 2015 for 14 Sept 2015 Meeting
Sponsorships of $100 each, total $200, were received. The City of Ottawa and the Rimalou Drugs paid $100 each for the Sept issue. The Office of the Councillor also paid $500 towards the Community Festival. CP Desjardins paid $247.81 towards the Community Festival. Interest of $0.01 was credited on 31 August
Cheque 010 in the amount of $887.05 was issued to John Sankey to repay the UPS Store 102 invoice for printing the September newsletter.
The summary for August:
Year to date receipts $ 947.82
Year to date expenses $ 887.05
Increase/decrease for year $ 60.77
Member’s surplus $ 8,887.79
Cash not deposited $ 0.00
Alterna share $ 15.00
Alterna Account $ 2,832.35
Alterna Term Deposit $ 6,040.44
Receivables & Liabilities:
We are owed $100 ea. by Riverside Pizzeria and Mike’s Garden Harvest for the June issue and $100 ea. by several sponsors for the September issue. HCCO took on responsibility for the payments of the Community Festival so several invoices for the event will be coming soon.
Motion: To accept the Year End Financial Report.
Moved by Peter Foulger, seconded by Christine Johnson, carried.
Sponsorship of Refugee Family
Sue McCarthy: We want to sponsor a refugee family from Syria. We have talked to the Mayor and the Councillor. Right now we are in the exploration phase.
John Sankey: He is interested. The sponsoring organization must have $27,000.
Peter Brimacombe: 30 years ago Canadian Martyrs Parish sponsored a Cambodian family. The Parish rented and furnished a house and provided a person to work with the family.
Federal All Candidates’ Meeting
Christine Johnson: The HCCO is participating with the other community associations in the Riding to host an all-candidates meeting. It will be held on October 8 at Hillcrest High School.
Traffic Calming on Paul Anka
Lynda Pedley: The speed sticks on Paul Anka between McCarthy & Uplands say 30 km/h just like the speed sticks on Uplands Dr. However, the newly installed speed sticks on Paul Anka between Uplands & Hunt Club say 50 km/h. Why do the speed sticks say 30 km/h on one part of Paul Anka and 50 km/h on the other?
John Sankey: The speed limit is 50 km/h. The vertical sticks that say 30 km/h were the only ones the City had at at the time.
Airport Parkway Off Ramp at Walkley
Eli Khouri: Right now there is a proposal for an off-ramp at Walkley. Will there be an on-ramp?
John Sankey: No
Next Meeting
Next meeting: Monday October 5 at 19:00