Attendees:
Motion: To approve the agenda. Moved by John Sankey, seconded by Ijeoma Udechukwu, carried.
Motion: To approve the September, 2017 minutes. Moved by Brian Wade, seconded by Kristy Nystrom, carried.
Paint It Up Mural
Christine Johnson: There are two fences along the Paul Landry Park property. Originally the project was to paint the fence where the property owner on the other side is Gilboa Apartments but it objects so the project is cancelled. The property owner on the other side of the other fence is Ottawa Community Housing. It is in favour.
Map of Walking Paths
Last week David Armitage mentioned a web site of the walking paths in McCarthy Woods. Our web site has a map of the walking paths in the whole community.
Signs in the Forest
John Sankey: The NCC owns McCarthy Woods which is managed by its Urban Lands Division. He has dealt with the Greenbelt Division where trail signs are standard. It seems the Urban Lands Division does not favour trail signs.
Councillor's Report
Riley Brockington presented the Councillor's Report:
Paul Landry Park: Construction of the play structure and surrounding site will start this month and should be finished this fall.
Claridge Homes proposed development on Hunt Club Road: The proposed development is on the land now occupied by Roofmaster. He and Diane Deans, Councillor for Gloucester-Southgate will host a public meeting Monday October 16 at 19:30 at the Community Centre.
Peter Brimacombe: He and John Sankey wrote a paper which said the proposed development would seriously impair Hunt Club Road. He sent the paper to City staff and to Riley Brockington and Diane Deans. Staff was to review the paper.
Riley Brockington: If you are going to approach individual councillors you should wait until the item is about to come up at the Planning Committee. Also you should go to the meeting October 16.
Commemorative Naming: Consideration is underway of naming the gyms at the Community Centre: Robert and Linda Poulsen. The storm water ponds, east of the Airport Parkway: Wendy Stewart.
Budget Consultation: As part of the budget process, forums are held throughout the city. There will be a forum October 12 at the Jim Durrell Recreation Complex at 18:00. He and three other councillors will be in attendance.
River Ward Older Adult Summit: It will be held October 27 and starts at 20:30. Registration is required: alix.duncan@ottawa.ca or phone 613 580-2486.
Community Safety Night: Will be held November 17 at the Riverside Churches.
River Ward Christmas Party: He will host a special Christmas soirée on Tuesday, December 12 from 18:00 to 20:00 at the Carleton Heights community Centre, 1665 Apeldoorn Avenue.
Operation Turkey: He will be hosting a free Christmas diner at the Community Centre in conjunction with Operation Turkey, December 24 from 14:30 to 16:30.
River Ward Fireworks Gala: He will host a fireworks gala at the Community Centre, December 29.
Bylaws
Peter Brimacombe: Brian Wade and he were asked to rewrite the constitution to improve the language and remove parts that are not used. They disagree on the length of terms of the directors. Present practice is to have one year terms. He proposes to stay with one year terms but add the requirement that the directors must receive two thirds of the vote in order to be elected. This requirement is added to make a hostile takeover more difficult.
Brian Wade: If we became a charitable organization it would be better to have two year terms. Under the new legislation, charitable non-profit corporations can use 5% of their budget to educate and advocate.
Bernie Geiger: If we were a charitable organization then we could issue tax receipts but that entails more rigorous book-keeping and auditing.
Ijeoma Udechukwu: We should follow the proposed provincial legislation.
Peter Brimacombe: The proposed legislation uses the term bylaws to describe the rules that govern non-profit organizations rather than constitution.
Motion: To recommend to change the constitution at the Annual General Meeting: That the directors and the president be elected for one year terms and that they be elected or removed by a two thirds vote of the members present at the meeting. Moved by Peter Brimacombe, seconded by John Sankey, carried.
Andrea Main
Christine Johnson: Andrea Main has stepped down as director.
Nominating Committee
Christine Johnson: The Annual General Meeting is Monday November 6. John Sankey has agreed to chair the nominating committee.
John Sankey: So far eight directors have said they will stand for re-election but no-one for president.
Honorary Lifetime Members
Motion: To recognize and honour members who have served on the HCCO Board of Directors for ten years or longer, and to ensure continuity and historical memory of our association, that these members be given the status of "honorary life members of the HCCO". Moved by Christine Johnson, seconded by John Sankey, carried.
Community Safety
Ijeoma Udechukwu: There have been two incidents which make her afraid. One at Quinterra where a man dressed up as a nurse went door-to-door looking to break in and the other was the recent murder at Carlington. What can we do?
Riley Brockington: The community can do safety audits: you walk through an area looking for things that make you feel unsafe, such as poor lighting or bushes in which someone can hide. You can call 311 to report unsafe things. Neighbourhood Watch is a program that promotes being alert and safe:
Bernie Geiger: Thank you to Riley Brockington for putting the speed sign on the curve on McCarthy Road. Hydro One has cleared the area underneath the high voltage lines north of the railroad tracks. It will plant wild flowers but mow the area once a year to prevent bushes and trees from growing up. There are a number of fruit trees and cedars on the area but Hydro One is going to cut them down. There are two signs on Hunt Club Road with the phrase "It's the law". Both signs are broken.
John Sankey: For nine years, he was the chair of the Safety Committee of Gloucester. He has a list of things for the safety audit. Twice as many men are assaulted as women but they don't report it. There was a safety audit of the path between the pedestrian bridge over the Airport Parkway and the transit station. It noted the bushes along the path but they have not yet been cut back.
Bernie Geiger: He noticed a panhandler in South Keys Mall approaching women.
Riley Brockington: If someone is aggressively panhandling near an ATM machine or is walking up and down in lanes of traffic, the police will take action but it's not illegal to beg.
Ijeoma Udechukwu: At South Keys Mall, she saw a young man bleeding in obvious distress but nobody helped him. Ottawa Community Housing is starting its new development at Ashgrove. The workers cut down another tree and when they started breaking rocks at 6:00, it was very noisy.
Membership
Motion: That individual annual membership fee remain at $10, but in order to reflect a second adult member in the family, eligible for the City's 20% discount rate for group fitness classes, each additional family member 18 years of age or older, would be charged the $10 annual membership fee. Moved by Brian Wade, seconded by Christine Johnson, carried.
Brian Wade: He sold eight memberships last month and two tonight.
Renewable Energy Strategy
Motion: That the HCCO provide input to the City's pre-budget consultation, including through the FCA, recommending that $1.5 million be allocated in the its 2018 budget for investments under the Renewable Energy Strategy (also known as Energy Evolution). Moved by Christine Johnson.
Riley Brockington: This file has stalled. His concern is whether there is support for this project.
John Sankey: The province's renewal energy strategy is an appalling waste of money. The province is paying 20 times as much for solar power as other power. Individuals cannot make much difference. Battery storage is not effective. The most useful thing the City can do is to do an energy audit of its buildings.
Christine Johnson: She's going to a meeting to discuss this issue and will speak on her own behalf.
South East Ottawa Community Health Centre
Ijeoma Udechukwu: September 9th was the Annual General Meeting. Clinton Cowan was elected President. There are two positions for Vice-President. Jalil Marhnouj and Cathy Bonnah are the new Vice-Presidents.
Newsletter
Sue McCarthy: She is looking for articles for the December issue.
Environment
Brian Wade: The community garden is planned in Cahill Park next to his condominium. He is contacting the immediate neighbours to make sure there are no objections.
Next meeting: Monday November 6 at 19:00. This is the Annual General Meeting.