KEY ISSUES DISCUSSED AT 2 MAR 98 MEETING

Attendees:

• Fred McLennan, President
• Art Miskew, Vice-President
• Peter Vasdi, Secretary
• Bill Royds, Director (memberships)
• Nancy Seaby, Director (transit)
• Fred Winters, Director (recreation/social)
• Gisèle Loiselle-Branch, Director (representing Sequoia Coop and Twyford-Cahill area)
• Anne Brandel, Director (recreation/social)
• Kevin Arnold (representing PMRA)
• Shelley Parlow, Director (representing the Hunt Club Corridor Protection Association)
• Gord Aitken, (representing the Hunt Club Riverside Community Centre)
• Andrei Grushman, Resident (Quinterra/Riverwood Landings (west of Riverside)) - interested in green space protection.
• Wendy Stewart, RMOC councillor
• Lois Tuffin, The News

MOTIONS

See "Cahill Dr. and Twyford" below. Motion made to support local residents in putting a stop sign at corner because 84% of the local people voted yes. Motion seconded, and voted all in favor.

See "Improve HCCO membership collection process" below. Motion made that Bill Royds get together with Gord Aitken and Riverside Park Communication and research a solution. Motion seconded, and voted all in favor.

See "Membership in the FCA" below. Motion made to pay $30 to continue this membership for this year. Motion seconded, and voted all in favor.

KEY ISSUES

The following summarizes the issues discussed at the 2 Mar 98 meeting of the Hunt Club Community Organization (HCCO) at the Hunt Club Riverside Community Centre (HCRCC).

Regional Councillor, Wendy Stewart, submitted a report on the following:

• 1998 Regional Budget
• Update on Citizens' Panel for Local Governance
• Follow-up on Ice Storm
• Draft Municipal Act released for consultation
• Police Request public to report "swarming" type robberies
• Region Protects the Water Environment
• Light Rail Transit Pilot Project
• Take It Back! Product Stewardship Program - new partnership
• Biodiversity on the Rideau
• For information: Commercial Signage on McCarthy
• Councillor's Office Budget 1997
• Update on Airport Parkway Extended Traffic Impact Study

City councillor, Karin Howard, submitted a newsletter reporting on the following:

• McCarthy Road OBE Lands
• Stop Controls - Bennett Street and Lillico Drive Approaches to Uplands Drive
• Budget Document Update
• City Creates Guidebook for Safer Neighbourhoods
• Environmental Achievement Award
• Reassessment of Property Values
• 2020Z Update
• Local Governance
• Federal Support for Disaster Relief/Disaster Claims
• Lansdowne Park Public Consultation Process
• Hunt Club Neighbourhood Plan
• Cahill Drive

Z2020 and protecting the Southern Corridor:

• Community needs to lobby for interim control bylaw, but NCC will not be bound by it. Also, once the bylaw has expired (after two years), you can't bring it back.
• Save the interim control bylaw option until later. Do it when there's an important reason. Wait for neighborhood plan to do our work. Normally use such a bylaw where there is no option of developing a plan.
• We should prepare to have all our requirements in place prior to the passing of the bylaw.
• Public parts along airport and elsewhere are now in effect zoned G (government) in place of L (leisure). This is upzoning them so that government can build anything. These exceptions are not permanent. Zoning level is in effect for 5 years only. NCC and Hydro are government and this allows them to build on this land. HC must fight to prevent them from building during the 5 years.
• For more information, contact Shelley Parlow.

Cahill Dr. and Twyford:

• Karin wants HCCO to vote on whether to put stop signs there.
• Can't see road and turn safely from Twyford onto Cahill.
• Put a yield sign on one side only?
• People who live in that area should determine whether or not.
• Anne Brandel made a motion to go with the flow; Fred Winters seconded; to support the stop because 84% of the local people voted yes.

Casino at the corner of Hunt Club and Riverside Rd:

• Consultation re a proposal for a casino to be build on SE corner of this intersection.
• Star of Fortune company uses land around HC as a backup in case they can't build elsewhere. This is company who could build casino. If City doesn't approve an alternate site for the casino, then the company would lobby to build there. They want to start a business association there, too.
• A business area would be good for Hunt Club.
• Phone other cities to see what the consequences of having a casino in the area.
• Concern about increase in crime, mob activity (drugs), etc.
• In Windsor the police got an increased portion of the budget to police the casino.
• Two casinos in the region will mean less for each.
• Traffic: In Windsor, traffic wasn't a problem.
• Fred Winters will follow up re casino and bring it up next meeting.
• For more information, call Fred Winters.

Regional web site and budget:

• Region web site is searchable by key word.
• Regional budget: Wendy has the executive summary of the draft budget.
• For more information, call Wendy's office.

Local governance:

• Challenge and Choice options document available from Citizens' panel for local governance.
• For more information, call Wendy's office.

Ice storm:

• Forest Renewal Plan affects forest in urban areas only.
• May cost $4M to put this plan in effect.
• Ensure that treecutters only cut damaged trees down. The only tree blocking flashing light into Art's home was cut down "because it was too close to road". Loggers from Sault Ste Marie were doing the cutting.
• Wendy: If Art needs a big tree there, Region is going to plant a lot of trees.
• Get volunteers to cut trees.
• People are afraid to go for walks through McCarthy Woods because of branches falling.
• People in England regretted cutting trees after a storm, because the act of cutting (trucks, etc.) caused much more damage than leaving them alone.
• Concerned about fires aggravated by fallen branches.
• If property owners plant replacement trees on their property, do they get a subsidy or a reduction on their taxes?
• Nice if people would get a say on where they would like to plant trees.
• Fewer branches have caused interesting things: increased sunlight causing faster melting and probable flooding; more growth; more wildflowers.
• For more information, call Wendy's office.

Municipal Act:

• 270 pages.
• Permissive. Gives municipalities lots of powers.
• Wendy is meeting with Al Leech, the minister, on 23 Mar.
• Local governments are not constitutionally recognized.
• For more information, call Wendy's office.

Water:

• Are they going to put pictures beside sewer lines to educate people as to their purpose and limitations.
• Girl guides and yellow fish program.
• Not enough people to do this every year.
• Putting gallons of paint that washes off into the river causes its own problem.
• Better system: City has redesigned a sewer grate, with a fish cast into the iron grate, thus not needing to paint one on. Installing these grates as they need to.
• Region has a team of 6 people to enforce the sewer use bylaw.
• Not enough solids in waste water, due to infiltration of ground water, which permits local businesses to dispose of certain solids.
• For more information, call Wendy's office.

Light rail:

• All people on steering committee for light rail are from downtown, and not from the suburbs.
• Nobody from suburbs got into steering committee.
• Main objective of train is to serve Carleton U, not downtown.
• Rail terminates at Bayview, not Lebreton.
• Hull doesn't want to be involved in this project.
• Will be lot of opportunities to get involved in future.
• Rail line won't go through Southern Corridor.
• Long-range plan could mean extending the line to the airport.
• Will people on Steering Committee be using this train?
• Downtown people prefer the rail system to minimize downtown traffic.
• For more information, call Wendy's office.

Reusing pharmaceutical products:

• Ask pharmacies for how to go about this.
• Somalia and other countries are looking for used and expired medication.
• For more information, call Peter Vasdi.

Biodiversity on Rideau research project:

• Will contribute to bringing groups together to consider how to maintain clean water.
• Some study found fish and plants that have never been found before.
• Charles Billington is conservation authority person to contact, and lead man on this project.
• Grant for this project is from Montreal foundation, BLFM, a major philanthropic organization.
• Many of the scientists are doing this study on a semivolunteer basis (paid much less than they would actually charge).
• For more information, call Bill Royds.

Signs on McCarthy:

• City issue.
• Hydro has legal right to use its property to erect signs.
• This law may have changed and Hydro may be forced to take down the sign. New bylaw may force signs 500 feet away from road.
• Just boycott the product on sign; however, must write to the company to make them aware.
• For more information, contact Karin Howard.

Airport parkway:

• Next council meeting Wed 4 Mar. David Gladstone, current chair, is only credible person left in the centertown group.
• Region won't fund any study.
• HCCO doesn't see a need to twin the parkway at this time, but doesn't see any problem with it.
• Twinning parkway will hurt people who back onto it.
• Local people won't benefit from twinning the parkway, because we don't use it all that much.
• If we are to grow, then infrastructure must also grow and prior to municipal growth, not after it.
• Twinning the parkway won't be taken out of the official plan now.
• Won't come into effect for 20 years.
• If objective is to slow growth, we're 3 years too late for that.
• For more information, call Wendy's office.

How to improve the HCCO membership collection, and increase revenue for all:

• Need a member of HCCO to sit down with Gord Aitken and a member from Riverside Park to discuss improved alternatives.
• HCRCC sells 3 types of memberships (HCRCA, HCCO, and Riverside Park CA).
• HCRCC has a computer database of all who participate in the programs.
• All 3 assoc have different year-ends.
• Why not make memberships like an insurance policy that would expire and put onus on past members to renew their own memberships (rather than proactively sell memberships)?
• Two times per year, September and beginning summer, is when people buy memberships the most.
• Integrate computer systems with HCRCC and community association.
• Reason the HCCO year ends in 31 July is so that we can have a statement by end of Aug, and have an Annual General Meeting in September.
• Gord wants this all in place by 1 June 98.
• Sort memberships by postal code; use this code to determine which org the member belongs to.
• HCRCC uses 31 Aug as year-end date.
• Can computer see a repeat pattern on families?
• Add a surcharge/user fee per program? Try to do this to not penalize people who attend multiple courses during the year.
• Get addresses of members from HCRCC and HCCO should contact those people and inolve them with the community. Could drop a thank-you note into 120 mailboxes in 2 days.
• Community Centre expansion: A lot of parents want a swimming pool in area.
  • Long-term strategy planning session to formalize moving forward on expanding the centre. City of Ottawa asking the Neighborhood Plan to recommend this expansion.
  • Uplands pool is up for sale. Does not meet specs. Community desire is not strong enough to raise money, even to cover only operating costs.
• Membership solution should be simple and not cost more money than it gets.
• Over 9000 individuals in HCRCC client base.
• Majority of users are HC users, followed by outside area, and then by RPark.
• Peter V moved that Bill Royds get together with Gord and RPark and figure. Seconded, voted.
• Could prefill cards except for name. HCRCC staff could fill in card for each prospective member. Gord has no problem with this.
• For more information, call Gord Aitken.

Recreational softball:

• Needs volunteers.
• Cindy Nees and Roy is organizing the softball.
• Alan Asselstine knows and is also involved.
• Is parent-driven.
• Bought new equipment, to replace old.
• Anne is interested in what is involved and may get involved.
• For ages 5 to 12; runs from early May to late June.
• Had 189 kids last year.
• Level before little league.
• Cindy may need to raise membership fee to $30/kid and family.
• Charge around $25 now, but depends on how old the kids are.
• Gord said that HCRCC may be taking over softball from parents next year.
• Registration should be in full swing by Apr 98.
• For more information, contact Alan Asselstine.

Safety audit:

• Shelley requires a committe of three.
• Arrange audit for a month after the Neighborhood Plan open house (11 Apr) - after Easter.
• 22 Apr, Earth Day, suggested.
• Advertise with literature at Open House on 11 Mar.
• Need to first organize activities, then do the actual walkaround.
• Use back end of South End phone book, which divides area into lettered.
• Use polling maps from members' home or from Wendy Stewart.
• Start from Coady Coop in West, and HCRCC in East.
• Part of Neighborhood Plan is to do a safety audit.
• Have table at open house to push safety audit
• For more information, contact Shelley Parlow.

Whether to have our books audited:

• Look more closely at whether we have legal rights, because we haven't an audited statement.
• Directors become liable if there's an issue.
• Option of becoming unincorporated.
• An audit will cost $2000. CIC is adding in more documentation requirements.
• For more information, contact Art Miskew.

Membership in the FCA:

• Fred Winters moved to continue membership $30 per year; Bill seconded. Bill has been acting as the rep for HC. All voted, passed.
• FCA has the ear of the City staff, because City can rely on FCA rather than have to go to all the communities individually.
• FCA knows the name of the game, know the rules.
• They can advise us what we can vote for and how and who to go to.
• Next meeting 11 Mar, next 16 Apr.
• For more information, call Bill Royds.

Community Justice Committee (CJC) Anne Brandel

Saving the pine forest at the airport Shelley Parlow.

Rink is finished for season Fred Winters.

Spring garage sale - still waiting for stuff from people Anne Brandel

Neighborhood plan open house 11 Mar Holy family gym Shelley Parlow.

For more information, call Peter Vasdi at 737-6000/736-0787.

Next meeting: Mon 6 Apr 98 at 7:30pm