GACA Board Meeting – September 12, 2013

Present: Sylvia Milne, Lisa Furrie, Melanie Cave, Mary McIninch, David Perkins, Iain Wood, Brenda Quinlan, Chris McCann, Darlene Charron

The meeting was called to order at 6:37pm.

Welcome

Sylvia Milne welcomed everyone to the fifth meeting of the Board of Directors of the Glebe Annex Community Association (GACA).

Approval of the agenda

Melanie motioned to accept the agenda; Darlene seconded the motion.

Business arising from last minutes

There was no business arising from the minutes.

New business

Community Update

Sylvia told the group that, along with other community association presidents, she had attended a meeting with one of the Premier’s advisors to discuss the OMB. This meeting was an opportunity for presidents to raise their concerns about the OMB process and to offer possible solutions. Overall, the group felt that the OMB should be more accountable. As well, many said that launching an OMB appeal is expensive and requires expertise that is beyond the scope of most citizens. There is also the feeling that the federal, provincial and municipal authorities work in silos.

Two municipalities in Ontario are in the process of abolishing the OMB, which does not have to be part of the municipal hierarchy. With such a move, the question becomes what recourse would be available to a citizen or group who wished to appeal a decision.

Sylvia added that there is a scheduled presidents’ meeting with Councillor David Chernushenko. This meeting will focus on parking, transportation and traffic calming. There will also be a public meeting on 22 October about the city’s official plan.

The next meeting of the Federation of Citizens’ Associations (FCA) is scheduled for 18 September. Iain will attend of behalf of GACA

Treasurer’s Report

Chris met with the Treasurer of the Glebe Community Association (GCA) to review the systems that he has in place. The GCA has its books audited by Ted Lupinski who does not charge them for that service.

Funds that are raised by the membership drive could be used to establish an Association reserve fund that could be used to handle emergencies.

There is also the possibility of getting community businesses to pay to advertise on the Association’s website.

Membership

Brenda, Darlene and Gina met with someone from the GCA’s membership committee. The GCA has found that door-to-door canvassing is the most effective way to gain members.

The GACA membership committee decided that memberships will be offered to home owners, renters, businesses and absentee landlords. The committee developed communications and identified canvassers. Gina will be responsible for developing a database of members that both Sylvia and Lisa will be able to access.

The membership drive will begin in mid-September. There will also be an opportunity for people to purchase memberships at the AGM.

In terms of advertising, Iain will write an article for the next issue of the Glebe Report that will highlight the benefits of membership. This article will also provide an opportunity for the association to retell the “story” of how it came into being.

Going forward, it might be helpful to develop a “welcome to the neighbourhood” package for new residents, including a membership card.

Action: Iain will write an article for the Glebe Report. Iain will contact the EMC about the possible placement of an article in that publication.

Action: Lisa will send out an email blast about the membership drive. Iain has developed a poster that will be placed on telephone poles around the neighbourhood.

Decision: The first issue of membership cards will expire on 31 December 2014.

Traffic and security

Sylvia updated the group on behalf of Peggy.

There was a recent rash of car break-ins at the Dow’s Lake Towers on Bell Street. Peggy met with the building manager and provided him with “all valuables removed” cards for all tenants who park outside. Peggy requested an additional 200 cards from the Community Police Centre Officer. When she receives these cards, she will contact the managers of other buildings in the neighbourhood to provide them with cards for their tenants.

Peggy is hoping to meet with our Community Police Centre Officer to develop plans for crime prevention initiatives in our neighbourhood. She would like to work with the officer to schedule a residents’ meeting to discuss issues such as crime prevention and home security.

There is no news from the Ministry of Transport on its plans for the Bronson Bridge project.

Action: Peggy will follow up with the Ministry and report back to the board.

Parks

Action: Mary will attend the GCA’s parks meeting on behalf of GACA.

Action: Darlene will organize the next community clean up for 5 October.

Website

Action: David will remove the comment box on the site’s home page to try to stem the flow of span emails.

Social

Sylvia thanked Brenda and Chris for hosting the board’s summer social. She suggested that the association could host an event in the park next spring/summer.

Planning and development

The city’s final approval for the Taggart development is contingent on the registration of the section 37 monies. To date, Taggart has not registered that money.

The Samcon project is going forward. The company called a neighbourhood meeting to provide residents with the opportunity to review the site plans. The project is currently behind schedule; the original plan was for them to break ground in January.

There has been no activity on the ICON project (Preston and Carling).

New business

Sylvia said there is a need to identify a vice-president for the Association.

Sylvia also asked that each committee begin to identify its goals. As a group, the board should also think about the areas that should be focused on to have the greatest impact on the community. Security and community beautification were both identified as possible areas on focus.

There is also the need to raise the community’s profile, as well as the profile of the association.